Conflict
by RedsAdmin
Summary: Someone new moves into Happy Tree, will Splendid finally learn what love is? A story about Splendid, a Delta (dominant beta sub-dynamic), who searches for a true friendship outside his fans. When he finds himself falling for the new guy, a veteran soldier, someone else takes notice of this growing bond. Set in the Omegaverse.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of songbirds singing was what woke the super hero, he didn't know what was worse: Being woken up by his alarm clock or the optimistic tweeting of joyous birds. Splendid was sore all over, while he was a super hero, a building collapsing on top of him still hurt like hell. He hadn't broken anything, hadn't even shed a single drop of blood, but he still ached and didn't want to get out of bed. It was his day off from his normal job down at the news station and he had thought he'd be able to sleep in, but no such luck. He turned his head, his bright blue hair tussled from a restless sleep, still fluffy and looking a bit windswept. Blue eyes took in the light that filtered through the crack in his equally blue curtains, promising a nice spring day ahead of him.

When he first moved here years ago, such a sight would instantly brightened his day, called out to him to go flying in the nice weather. He assured himself he wasn't depressed, he was just tired. Tired of trying to save people who got themselves into situations they could've easily prevented. So many people depended on him when all he really wanted to do was spend time doing things for himself. He wanted to not burn his cooking for once or have to put down his needle and thread every five minutes because he heard someone screaming. Everyone got to be carefree and do what they wanted, but not Splendid.

He pushed himself up into a sit, rubbing his eyes and feeling the fabric of his red mask rub comfortingly against his skin. He did like being a hero, it made him popular with the people, he liked being a star. Or so he thought. Being a beta was supposed to be easy, not swayed by alphas or omegas as strongly, he was fun loving, energetic. Sure, he was also clumsy, easily distracted and tended to kill the people he saved, on accident. It didn't matter, wasn't like most of them remembered his failures and they'd just come back the next day good as new. What really weighed on him was the fact he wasn't just a regular Beta, he was a Delta, a sub-dynamic that meant he was a very dominant Beta.

He really hadn't noticed any differences in himself until his twin had escaped whatever mirror hell he crawled out of. Splendont made him feel the need to prove himself, with Splendont being an alpha it was supposed to be set in stone that he was in every way better than Splendid. The blue squirrel couldn't just sit down and let it happen, now saving people was a competition with his red headed twin. It was a fight he wasn't really into, but when faced with such aggression and threat, Splendid couldn't help but to puff up and fight back. Just thinking about that asshole was giving him a migraine, so he pushed himself out of bed and decided to get ready for the day.

Making breakfast always cheered him up, cooking was a hobby of his, distracting him from his troubling thoughts. Maybe today would be the day he could actually enjoy some personal time, though it was wishful thinking. It was only a matter of time until someone screamed and needed his help. Maybe he could ignore it for a day, let Splendont handle it since the anti-hero was so keen on showing him up. He could just stay at home and read, he could easily lose himself in a good adventure book. He'd have to go to the library again today, he needed to return the book and check out a new one.

As he sat down with his plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes, he lost himself in thought as he savored his perfectly cooked breakfast. Splendid had a lot of fans, his comics were a big hit, he was surrounded by people who wanted to be with him. And yet, depressingly enough, none of them were his friends. Not really surprising since being a super hero left little time to socialize and well Splendid couldn't let anyone close in fear of them finding out his secret identity. He couldn't do the traditional games the regular citizens did either, he always ended up killing them on accident. When he was having fun, he tended to get distracted and forget to temper his strength. The only one who wasn't instantly killed by his strength was Splendont and his twin wasn't exactly the type for socializing or playing fun games. Unless dropping a moon on Splendid was a new form of game.

Standing up now that he finished his breakfast and silent pondering, he put his dishes away in the dishwasher and began his daily routine of getting dressed. He liked looking fashionable, in a ruggedly handsome sort of way. His blue jumpsuit scent heavily of his confident,sandalwood scent that he was certain would make any lady, or man, swoon for him. He stood in front of the mirror, crisping his jumpsuits collar a little, giving himself a little confidence booster by admiring himself in the mirror. He made sure the side part in his hair was straight despite having his boyishly tussled hair, making him look charming.

He looked good, his suit was clean and patched up thanks to his amazing sewing skills. Even his red sneakers didn't have a single scuff on them, he was finally ready to face the disaster of a town they called Happy Tree.

Picking up the book he checked out from the library, he tucked it into the from of his jumpsuit, having remembered after the hundreth time of ruining a book with his top speed flying that books were not as durable as Splendid. He didn't plan on going top speed since the weather was nice out, but one never knew in the life of a super hero. After shutting and locking his door behind him, not that those thieving coon twins would dare break into his house, especially not after he completely destroyed their kryptonut. Which he didn't want to think about it because he rarely ever died and he'd been unlucky enough to remember such a death unlike everyone else.

He drifted lazily up into the air, feeling a freedom that no one really got to experience, making him feel a bit special. This feeling of freedom often made him a bit lazy since he didn't have to walk and he could get places quickly, making him impatient because the citizens had to walk and it was so slow. So it wasn't a surprise that despite Splendid taking his time, he still ended up in front of the library in no time at all. When he landed with a bounce, he paid no attention to the small dents his feet made in the concrete, his mind already distracted about what book he should get next.

When he pushed open the door, he had to take a moment as usual to get himself situated. In any public building, there were so many scents and his mind was trying to process them all, finding out which were threats and which ones were more inviting. He didn't study too long, just collecting himself to ignore them, being super in all his senses meant he could pick scent stronger than most, making things a bit more in with the array of various dynamic scents was the underlay of worn pages to freshly printed ink of the new releases. It was all very welcoming and comforting, not a lot of alphas came here, so it was relatively safe for Splendid who always seemed to showboat whenever alphas were around.

He already knew the path that would take him to to the fiction section, where the adventure novels were tucked away but something made him pause when he passed by a certain aisle. He glanced up at the nameplate on the end of the shelf which read 'Self-Help'. He had been thinking about investigating this section the last few times he went to the library but he'd been too embarrassed and ashamed to turn down into the aisle. He was Splendid, he was great in every shape and form, why would he need any help? If someone saw him even, He knew his top fan often frequented the library, the omega Sniffles. The guy was a genius and looked up to Splendid, what would the boy think if he knew his idol was flawed?!

Splendid glanced around, making sure the coast was clear, seemed like no one was here this morning, or it was too early for any real social interaction. With no one in sight, Splendid steeled himself and quietly moved down the aisle, his blue eyes wide as he tried to take in all the books at once. There were so many, he didn't really know what he was looking for exactly. Did they even have a self-help book on how to be, well, normal? He scanned the spines of the books, so many different sizes with varying titles. Then he spotted it, what he didn't know what he was looking for. It was a book about how to make friends, as corny as that sounded. A real friend, not a fan or admirer, was something Splendid was missing out on.

He was about to reach for the book, his hand, clad in a red fingerless glove, was raised, just a couple more inches and his fingertips would touch the book that could provide him with the secrets of real friendship. And it was all ruined when a voice came from beside him, "Can I help you with something?"

Splendid choked on his own shriek, making an ungodly wheezing sound, it wasn't often someone could sneak up on the super squirrel. But here he was, clinging to the top of the tall bookshelf, looking like a freaked out cat, his blue eyes wide as he stared down at the one who managed to catch him off guard. The only thing heroic about him right now was the amazing feet of jumping straight up and landing prone on the top of the book shelf. He took in the sight below him, of a short slight of a man who had the brightest Green hair, not like a neon color like Nutty's but softer in hue. It looked soft and feathery, not really understanding why he was taking note of the guy's hair but… it was really pretty, okay?

"I… I didn't mean to scare you." The voice came out, he didn't sound like he lacked confidence but the soft and hesitant sound made it seem like he was just as surprised as he was from the super heroes reaction. Splendid lowered his gaze to lock eyes with the perp, for a brief moment blue eyes met green, the shade of fresh spring leaves, bright and they were pulling Splendid in. He gave a little mental shake, the reason why he was so interested was only because he'd never seen this person before and he knew everyone in Happy Tree and it wasn't often they received new people. Seeing how he was looking completely ridiculous on top of the shelf, he cleared his throat and began to lower himself down, raking his fingers through his hair in a smooth movement, covering up his previous embarrassing moment by picking up the remains of his confidence.

When he finally landed on his feet, he got a good whiff of the other male, making his nostrils flare a little with interest. He'd definitely never caught this scent before, definitely omega but he couldn't exactly pinpoint the scent, something flowery and soft. He hadn't realized he'd leaned closer until the green haired male took a step back to regain some space. "Do you need any help?" The words snapped Splendid a bit out of his trace and he blinked and looked around as if just now realizing he was in a library. Not just in the library, but the Self Help section, he was caught red handed. He could play it off though, this guy was new, right? Which meant he didn't know who Splendid was… Which was an odd feeling. He didn't particularly like the idea of someone not knowing who he was of all people.

"I got lost." He offered, a weak excuse, but he carried on before the other could think about questioning his logic especially when the aisles were labeled in plain sight. "Are you new here? I've never seen you around." He looked down to further examine the shorter male before him, he was outfitted in loose army clothes, making him wonder if the omega had really been in the army or if he just like camo. While Splendid wasn't one to judge nor was he in any position to do so, he just never heard of an omega in the W.A.R. before, not that he actually attended one. That had happened before he arrived.

"Yes, I just arrived yesterday in fact.I'm the new librarian." Now that things seemed to have settled between them, the other seemed to be more at ease, making his quiet voice smoother. While he didn't have the demand of an Alpha's voice, he could make someone like Splendid listen in, it was unusual because Splendid rarely wasted time listening to problems of citizens that weren't in physical danger. Splendid took initiative and took the new arrival's hand in a quick shake, forgetting his strength momentarily. What was meant to be a friendly, eager shake, turned into a painful one as the omega winced and tried to politely pull away, a bit confused. Splendid frowned a little at the rejection, "Uh, well, I'm Splendid… The town's super hero! I keep the town safe and secure. So if you ever find yourself in trouble, just call out my name."

He placed his hands on his hips, oblivious to the fact the omega was still holding his injured hand to his chest. The green haired gave a strained smile, trying to remain polite towards the superhero who didn't seem to notice the fact he likely fractured a few of the librarian's bones in his hand. His soft and sweet scent didn't change, didn't express what he was feeling as the bear was used to suppressing the pain and so much more. Splendid was wrapped up in trying to impress the omega, feeling like he needed to since this guy was new and Splendid needed more than anything to make the right impression on… "My name is Flippy, its nice to meet you Splendid."


	2. Chapter 2

Flippy? It was a adorable name, fitting for Happy Tree since most of the citizens have fairly cute names in his opinion. At least, the ones he remembered anyways. He gave the green haired male another look over, the clothes seemed so out of place for someone who was a librarian. Splendid always imagined people from the military to be weathered and strict, but he'd only seen movies, never a soldier in real life. In the few seconds he'd met Flippy, he was curious about the mystery of the omega soldier, if he was indeed a former soldier. At the sound of a throat being cleared, Splendid's gaze snapped back up to meet Flippy's, only to see he was politely looking away. Splendid's cheeks warmed, a strange enough feeling to make him raise a hand to touch his cheek in a bit of confusion. He'd been caught staring.

"Sorry!" He tried to laugh it off a bit, his hand brushing back into his air almost a bit sheepishly. "It was just your uniform, I've never met a soldier before. They're kinda' like heroes too, guess we have that in common." He thought his compliment would've worked, but Flippy only seemed to frown further and kept his hand to his chest, Splendid figured it was just a defensive posture of an omega. People like being compared to a hero, right? Being compared to him? A star who had their own comic book line and merchandise? "Can I help you find something?" Flippy seemed to think otherwise as the subject was change, momentarily deflating Splendid a little.

This reminded him where his was, once more, how did he keep forgetting his surroundings? However, Splendid perked up a little as he formulated a plan, giving himself a mental pat on the back, because doing it physically would be a bit awkward, not that he wouldn't try if he was by himself. "Right! I wanted to read something new, do you have any recommendations?" Perfect, this was certainly a good way to learn something about this new arrival. He was interested because Flippy was new, that was his reasoning. Seeing the way Flippy perked up a little at the subject change onto something he seemed to enjoy, Splendid felt like he deserved a medal for how smooth he was. Or so he thought.

"I enjoy reading romance books, I could suggest some of my favorites. If you're interested, that is." Flippy seemed to reel himself back from his excitement, Splendid wanted to reach out and comfort him? He didn't want the green haired male to hold back when he seemed this excited about something, hardly anyone in this town seemed to show any restraint, only the little shy red-head. He honestly never took the time to figure out the porcupine's gender, plus they always seemed to faint when he came to the rescue. He wasn't that scary.

Romance. A subject he was unfamiliar with and the very idea had never actually occurred to him. Just because he was charming and loved the spotlight didn't mean he escaped his self-absorbed bubble until Flippy brought up the subject. Speaking of charm, it seemed to be absent suddenly as he glanced over at the book he'd been reaching for. Friendship for Dummies. He hadn't even mastered the technique of acquiring actual friends and Flippy was suggesting he skip that step and go straight to romance novels. And why was his face so hot all of a sudden?! Heroes don't panic, they remain calm even in the face of their greatest challenge. Who knew that would be Romance books.

"I'm all about romance." He reached out to place a hand on the shelf, leaning on it to look casual, slowly regaining himself the more he boasted. He wasn't picking up on the facial cues Flippy was giving off with raised brows and a vaguely amused expression that made its way through the strain brought on by the pain in his hand. "As a hero, I save damsels in distress on a daily basis. That's basically the outline of every romance novel." In his attempts to regain his confidence after the slip up moments ago, he was unaware that he was putting off a stronger scent, a subconscious reaction to cover up any sign of weakness. The scent was heavy, one could almost believe it belonged to an alpha if it weren't to the soft edge to it.

Regardless, Flippy seemed to wrinkle his nose and took a step further back, looking a bit uncomfortable at this display. "I see. If you're an expert then I guess there's no need for you to read them." Splendid straightened suddenly when his new acquaintance seemed to be backtracking, pulling away from him. He hadn't meant to do that. He didn't like the idea now that he'd caught a brief glimpse of interest in those vibrant green eyes. "Hey, wait a minute! Its not like I don't want to read them, I guess I could see if I could learn any new moves." He was lying through his teeth, but he didn't care. He never really cared much about telling little white lies. He had a reputation to keep up, people looked up to him and he couldn't appear like he was incapable of anything.

Flippy looked a bit confused, eyeing Splendid but never quiet meeting his gaze, it wasn't really unusual for an omega. After what seemed like an eternity later he finally decided to believe at least a little of what Splendid was talking about. "Its more about bonding with someone special." He murmured a little quietly, but Splendid picked it up with his good hearing. Bonding. Just another thing Splendid never really thought about, being who and what he was, it would be nearly impossible to bond with someone. For one, everyone knew villains always targeted a hero's loved ones, it was the oldest cliche in the comic book. Two, Splendid had incredible strength and little control, even a simple hug could crush some. And last but not least, he was a Delta, an enigma, a black sheep of the dynamic family who didn't fit the norms.

However, reading was safe and something he could enjoy, books were the doorways to the imagination and the impossible. So maybe reading a romance novel wouldn't be too bad and it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. If he didn't like it, he could always go back to his adventure novels. Or that Self Help book he kept eyeing. "Anyways, pick out your favorite and I'll give it a shot, being a librarian must mean you're pretty good with books." He nodded, pretending to be sagelike as he folded his arms across his chest. This seemed to put Flippy at ease a little, he seemed to hesitate as if waiting to follow Splendid. Splendid simply waited, having a few brief encounters with omegas before, enough to know that they tended to be lacking confidence at certain times.

Flippy was new, the area was new and he had to get to know everyone before he could be comfortable enough in his environment to take some charge, especially around alphas, or more dominant betas like Splendid. Once Flippy seemed to straighten his shoulders, he took initiative and Splendid followed after with his hands in his pockets, watching the omega move. There was a certain grace and fluidity to his movements. It was no wonder that the soldier had so easily snuck up on him, that alone was a feat in itself. While most would compare such light steps to that of a dancer, the knowledge that Flippy likely served in the war made it hold a slightly darker meaning. It made Splendid wonder if the green haired male had ever killed anyone.

Splendid frowned a little, it was a shame really if this omega had come to Happy Tree in hopes of peace, hopefully Splendid could try to protect this already tarnished being from further violence. Doing that would be an uphill battle with the way the citizens were around here. He nearly ran into Flippy when the shorter male stopped and pulled a book from the shelf. Splendid was so distracted with such serious thoughts that he hadn't been paying attention until he caught a stronger whiff of that calming flower scent. A sigh escaped him before he knew he, making Flippy suddenly aware of how close the hero was. The omega was quick to back away with one hand still to his chest and the other holding out the book he'd chosen.

Splendid tore his gaze away from Flippy to look down at the book with interest. The cover had some typical artwork on it, a man without his shirt and the typical tall, dark and handsome. His brows furrowed in such a broody manner that he was certain that the cover alone could get women pregnant. Maybe he was exaggerating a little, but still! The woman in the picture was just as beautiful, all the right curves and those lusting eyes that made Splendid look away. Did all romance books have suggest suggestive covers? He wasn't going to read the back description, he didn't dare. If the cover art alone was making him feel weird things and his cheeks heat up, he didn't want to risk the chance of bursting into flames before Flippy.

He glanced at Flippy from the corner of his eyes, finding the wall highly interesting all of a sudden. The librarian seemed to be waiting expectantly, his eyes eager to know if Splendid was interested in the same thing he was. If this would let him become friends with the omega… "Looks exciting. I'll just check one out for now, can't carry much more in my jumpsuit." He patted his chest to indicate where he carried the books, Flippy nodded, appearing at ease once again. "Sure, when you get finished and decide you like it, I'll suggest some more for you to read. There's one series I really like, but I haven't met a lot of people who enjoy Romance books, so it would be nice to talk about them with someone." Splendid was staring again, his blue eyes watching those pink lips move with fascination. The way the corners were curled up just slightly, a small little smile when Flippy talked about his romance novels made Splendid's heart feel weird.

Flippy gently took the book back, the feel of the omega's fingertips ghosting against his own made his stomach feel like never before. Maybe he was getting sick? That was impossible. Unless… He glanced around, suddenly suspicious, had those thieving twins found some sort of remaining kryptonut? Surely not! Suddenly, a strong, sweet scent breached his nose, luring him away from his sudden rising anger and stress. His head snapped to the source to find Flippy a little hunched, swallowing nervously as he didn't know Splendid enough to react properly against the sudden heavily stale scent of an angry beta. Splendid's eyes widened a little as he just realized what he'd been doing.

He'd gotten himself so riled up from the thought of Shift and Lifty with kryptonut that he'd been putting off some strong pheromones meant to oppress any threat around him, warning off any who dared to piss him off. Instantly, he did his best to get his scent under control, but the aisle would be saturated in it for a while until someone thoroughly cleaned or it faded with time. "Sorry, its not because of you. If you see any green haired twins around, especially if one is wearing a fedora, stay away from them. They'll pick your pockets clean." This only seemed to make Flippy glance warily around as if the raccoons would pop up at the mere mention of them.

Splendid laughed and patted the omega on the shoulder, "Its okay. If they do, I'll beat them up and get all your stuff back. That is if that actually manage to get a successful heist." He tried to cheer Flippy up, but the shorter male didn't seem so convinced with the worried expression on his face."We should get your book checked out." Flippy once again changed the topic, Splendid was relieved since he was beginning to feel a bit awkward standing in the romance section, with an omega no less. "Right, lead the way, Mr. Librarian." Splendid did a sweeping bow, hoping his dramatic antics would cheer the omega back up a bit.

The soft laugh that greet him was pleasant to his ears, he suspected Flippy didn't laugh very often since the sound had been so soft and short. Splendid followed after Flippy until they arrived at the front desk and as Flippy began to scan the barcode on the book to bring it up on his computer, Splendid tried to make small talk. "Since you're new here, you probably don't know much about the places around here. The malt shop down the street has some really good shakes if you have a sweet tooth. Though no restaurant around here is as good as my cooking, I can make cookies that practically melt in your I ever get a break between saving the world, I could bring some by sometime."

That seemed to get Flippy's attention as he just finished stamping the due date on the inside card of the book, his eyes meeting his finally. That hope in them made Splendid want to rush home and make cookies right then, he couldn't possibly disappoint Flippy when the omega looked at him like that. It felt like something shot him straight through the heart and he had to place a hand on the counter to keep himself standing. "I love cookies, its been so long since I had homebaked ones. I'm, uh, a bit of a terrible cook." He looked down sadly, making Splendid grip the desk so hard that the wood cracked a bit under pressure but the splinters couldn't penetrate his skin.

Reaching out before he could stop himself, he took Flippy's hand in both of his, preparing to bring it to his chest. It was supposed to me a comforting gesture, but the way Flippy cried out and then bit his lip in attempts to muffle the rest of it caught Splendid off guard. He looked down at the hand and pressed his thumb against the back of it which only gained him a quietly choked sob as Flippy tried to jerk his hand back. Splendid allowed no such thing, how had Flippy hurt himself? Maybe he'd hurt it while moving? It didn't matter, Splendid was a hero, he couldn't possibly just stand by while someone was in pain.

Picking up the book, he tucked it into the front of his jumpsuit. "Don't worry, Flippy, I'll take you to the hospital, I'm the fastest flyer around!" He yanked at the captured hand without a thought, pulling Flippy over the desk with ease, ignoring the cry in pain and protest from the bear who pleaded to let him go. Nonsense, Splendid knew what he was doing, he's done this a million times he had Flippy cradled bridal style in his arms, the soured scent of flowers making him bristle with the need to protect. He'd get Flippy the care he needed in a this need, he launched himself up without thinking where he was…

And crashed directly through the ceiling of the library.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was up almost all the way by now, the sky cloudless and clear, hinting of a hotter summer. Up here in the air though was cool and the wind was pretty nice. However, Splendid couldn't concentrate on that. The omega, Flippy, was injured and as a hero, he would offer his help. Didn't help that all his instincts were driving him to make sure Flippy was well cared for, not knowing that he'd been the cause of such pain. He gave a shake of his head, getting rid of the ceiling's dust and debris from his previously perfect hair. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in light, so he didn't take off towards the hospital just yet. Though he suddenly wished he had as something made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle with awareness.

That could only mean one thing. Splendont was near.

"Should've known you'd behind the sound of destruction." A voice from behind him called out, smooth, arrogant as if he knew he was the better superhero. Splendid refused to acknowledge such an idea, he was here first, he'd come to the rescue first and if it wasn't for Splendid, his twin would still be stuck in the mirror. Though he wished he still was. The blue haired hero whirled around to face his twin, the red head often rubbed ever little thing in his face, especially the fact that he was an alpha while Splendid was a Beta, and not even completely that.

His body tensed, ready for a fight, unaware that his grip was crushing Flippy against his chest, his anger was rolling off him in waves. Usually he didn't get this worked up, but he suddenly just wasn't in the mood to deal with Splendont right now. Flippy needed care and Splendid would be the one to give it. With Splendid facing his twin now, the red head looked a bit surprised when he noticed someone unfamiliar in Splendid's arms. However, Splendont knew that anytime Splendid decided to carry someone, they always either ended up either missing a few limbs or worse, dead.

"Hand over the civilian, Splendid." He ordered, his tone more serious than his amused taunts. While he disliked Splendid, he still took his job seriously since he always had to clean up Splendid's messes. He put a little bit of a command to his voice, trying to use his alpha nature to get Splendid to give in. But he should've known it wouldn't work.

Splendid glared at his twin with annoyance, the audacity the red haired hero had to try to try to his his superior dynamic against him. Maybe if he was an omega it would've worked, but Splendid wasn't easily cowed, especially when it came to Splendont. Instead he drifted back further from the other squirrel, he didn't want to fight right now, not when his arms were holding Flippy. "I can handle taking care of Flippy by myself, you're not needed. I'll save him and be the real hero."

Splendont folded his arms over his chest, one brow raised, doubting Splendid's words. "Yeah, you really look like you're saving him alright." He pointed towards Flippy, drawing Splendid's eye to the omega who'd been strangely quiet. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of blood running down the side of Flippy's face, making his stomach churn and making him feel sick. He'd seen worse scenes than this, but just seeing Flippy bleed so much, it made everything inside him freeze over in a panic. He hadn't been bleeding before, what the hell happened!

"Looks like your stupid move to crash through the roof caused some bits to hit his head." That annoyed tone reached Splendid's ears, it wasn't his fault! "Now, hand him over before you make it worse." Splendid turned his glare to meet Splendont's red gaze, there was a silent battle during the stare down. Splendont had his arms outstretched as if Splendid would actually hand Flippy over. The guy was delusional if he thought Splendid was letting him get his hands on Flippy, to take credit for rescuing the . Was. **His.**

"I think the library roof is caving in, you better go stop it." Splendid replied, changing the subject despite how tense he was. Splendont took the bait and looked down to see if Splendid was correct, but the blue hero used that split second of a distraction to make a break for it. Splendid used his speed and Splendont's concern for the world around him to get a headstart towards the hospital. He knew it was only a second or two start before Splendont realized he'd been played, but that's all he needed to stay one step ahead of his twin.

He heard Splendont call out from behind him, probably trying to tell him to stop or some other nonsense that he knew Splendid wouldn't listen to. Ever since their big fight, Splendid made it a habit to do everything he could to aggrivate his brother. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, Flippy tuck 'safely' against his chest, too bad Splendid couldn't actually appreciate the feel when he spotted Splendont just out of arms reach behind him, looking like a bull on a rampage. Better kick it into top gear.

He was about to push himself when he slammed straight into a wall.

Of course, the wall didn't stand a chance from the impact, Splendid curling himself in attempts to use his durable body as a shield to protect Flippy the best he could as he tumbled and rolled across the once pristine tile floor of the hospital, crashing into empty wheelchairs before he finally skidded to a stop before one of the nurses' desks. Splendid groaned, disoriented from all the rolling as he pushed himself up, feeling something resting on top of him. Looking down he noticed Flippy's unconscious form covered in even more blood, dust, and bits of wall. It seemed Splendid hadn't managed to completely protect him from harm after hitting the wall.

A shadow soon fell over him, causing him to raise his head to see Splendont standing over him, looking royally pissed. Instead of saying anything, as Splendid could see how tightly his brother's jaw was clenched. his twin reached down to try and pick Flippy up off Splendid. That was a huge mistake as Splendid did what he usually did, reacted without thinking. Catching Splendont off guard, his fist came crashing up in a vicious uppercut with such a force he sent Splendont crashing up into the floor twin should've known Splendid wouldn't give up anything without a fight. He could hear the nurses screaming and the doctors trying to assess the situation, Splendid stood up, suddenly unaware of Flippy as the omega rolled onto the tile floor.

Those royal blue eyes were looking up at the hole in the ceiling, preparing for a dog fight with Splendont. One of the nurses dared to rush over, trying to pull Flippy away from the scene, Splendid already had a one track mind as his senses were tuned in on his Splendid didn't expect was a pair of hands bursting out of the floor beneath him to shackle around his ankles, having thought Splendont was still above him. Before he could react, he was yanked down, his body turning in the bits of tile and concrete to face his twin, his hands reaching out to sink his fingers into the lank crimson hair of his brother. How could the guy call himself a twin with such unstyled hair. Heroes were supposed to look good!

He shoved, slamming Splendont's head into the floor, creating a dent in the floor but otherwise not phasing Splendont in the slightest. The hands on Splendid's ankles yanked again, sending him flying away from his twin and crashing back outside the hospital. Even during the heat of battle Splendont seemed to still be aware that they were in a hospital and wanted to get his oblivious twin out before he caused more damage. Splendid dusted his jumpsuit as he hovered in the air, watching Splendont hover out of the hospital to face off against Splendid. The scent of cedar heavily clashing with Splendid's sandalwood, trying to overpower each other in every way possible.

Splendont's red jumpsuit was a bit worse for wear, matching Splendid's, but unlike the red twin, Splendid was good at patching his suit up. "Looks like I was the one who got him to the hospital after all." Splendid boasted, trying to needle his more serious twin, while Splendid seemed jovial and carefree, there was a bite to his teasing words. He could smile and give off anger at the same time so easily, it was just another way people seemed a bit off balance when dealing with the Delta.

"You did more damage than before! How can you even brag about this!" Splendont shouted, raising his arms up to indicate the partially destroyed hospital. It wasn't technically all Splendid's fault, if Splendont had just let him take Flippy to the hospital without a fight this wouldn't have happened. Suddenly reminded of Flippy, he glanced wildly around, looking down at his empty arms as if expecting Flippy to be there. Where did he go?! He completely ignored Splendont now as he looked down below, had Flippy fallen? No, there weren't any blood splatters on the street below, it wouldn't be the first time he's seen one though to be honest.

Splendont pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, unable to believe he was the twin to this moron. "He's in the hospital, Splendumbass." He groused, the wind taken out of his sails when he was reminded how incompetent his twin was, he turned to face the destruction that had been made, neither of the heroes knew how to repair, but it always seemed like someone in Happy Tree knew how to rebuild since the houses were always repaired quickly. Splendont thought it was just because of the curse, if it could repair humans then it could possibly repair buildings, right?

The truth was even more unbelievable, because who could believe that a handyman with no hands could be a master constructor?


	4. Chapter 4

"You look glum." A voice interrupted his thoughts as Splendid had been looking down at his strawberry lemonade, the ice had mostly melted away by now but he hadn't been paying attention. Looking up, he spotted his waitress, Giggles, taking a seat in front of him. The outdoor cafe was nice, he didn't particularly like being indoors unless there was a lot of open space and no crowd. Too many colliding scents, too many stares. Giggles smiled brightly at him, which should've cheered him up, the pink haired girl was always cheerful and outgoing. She was pretty much friends with everyone and Splendid knew everyone wanted to date her, he wouldn't blame them, anyone would want someone with a strong and optimistic woman like her.

"Sorry, just a lot on my mind today." He leaned back in his chair, trying to drag himself to be the happy-go-lucky hero everyone adored. He was a bit more comfortable talking to Giggles, with her being a beta as well, remained mostly nuetral, she was what a true beta was supposed to be, where all sides felt calm around her and could open up. "My new friend is in the hospital." He admitted, though 'friend' was a bit of a stretch, they had just met but Splendid wanted to be friends with Flippy. Such a strong desire to actually get to know someone was unusual for Splendid, he'd always been about thinking for himself.

"Sorry to hear that, are they alright?" Giggles looked concerned, though she hadn't heard of any of the people she knew being in the hospital. "Who is it? Splendid frowned a little, then again he shouldn't be surprised, Flippy was new to town so maybe he hadn't had the chance to meet everyone yet. He glanced away a little, being the figurehead of Happy Tree he should introduce Flippy to everyone around but… He didn't like the idea really. He didn't know why, but the idea of Flippy hanging out with others, laughing and having a good time without Splendid made him frown even more. It was just one more trouble to stack on top of the growing pile. "His name is Flippy, he's the new guy who moved into town."

Giggles looked a bit surprised, there hadn't exactly been a new person moving into their town in so long so he couldn't blame her. "To be in the hospital first thing when you move into a new town, that's pretty bad. Maybe you should take him some flowers! Everyone loves flowers and its practically tradition for a get well present." Splendid perked up at this news, he hadn't known that but getting Flippy a gift sounded like a pretty great idea. "So what dynamic is he?" Giggles asked curiously, Splendid glanced away, he didn't exactly want to say. He didn't understand why he was being so guarded, especially when this was Giggles, if he trusted anyone it would be her.

"An omega." He finally admitted, brushing his fingertips along the condensation of his lemonade, using it as a distraction. Giggles tapped her chin in thought before grinning as an idea seemed to strike her. "Since he's a omega in a new place, you should get him something soft, they like plushies, yeah? You should get him one along with flowers." Splendid was a bit relieved that he decided to talk to Giggles, she seemed to be pretty good with socializing, making Splendid aware of his own flaws. "Good idea, I should go get them now." Now that he had a goal in mind and a reason to go see Flippy, he wanted to hurry. He pulled his wallet out from the inside of his jumpsuit and pulled out the money to pay for his drink, uncaring if he paid too much or not.

He gave Giggles a wave before launching himself up into the air, causing the table and chair he'd been sitting at to be knocked over, causing Giggles to tumble over with a cry, but Splendid was already on his one track mind. First, he'd go to the toy shop, he'd passed by their several times to look at the action figures and other merchandise he had of himself. Thinking about that as he landed before the shop, denting the concrete as usual. He was certain he had a stuffed toy of himself in there and who wouldn't want something that looked like him? He pushed open the door, the bell tinkling to announce his arrival.

The young man behind the counter perked up and then gasped when he noticed who was there, he waved his hand. "Hey, Splendid! How can I help you?" Splendid struggled to remember the yellow haired boy's name, he usually hung out with Giggles a lot. Cuddles! That was it. "Just here to pick up something for a friend. I'm in a bit of a rush." He nodded and moved over to a section he knew all too well, holding the various toys that featured him and he'd like to mentally point out that his twin didn't have anything featuring him. So hah, Splendid wins again. Not that Splendont would really care, but Splendid would take what he could get.

He looked around and found a bin filled with stuffed toys of him and the members of his SSSSSuper Squad. He had to dig a bit since it seemed a lot of his toy was bought. He was near the bottom of hte bin, half his body buried in stuffed toys, he found the last Splendid toy. He quickly breached the surface with a gasp of victory, holding up the toy as if to show off his prize. Heading over to the register he placed the toy on the counter and fetched his wallet to pay for it. Of course, he also autographed a comic book for Cuddles, even though he was in a bit of a rush but he couldn't say no to the pleading look on the omega's face.

Finally, one more stop then he could get to the hospital. Tucking the stuffed toy into the front of his jumpsuit, making him bulge out weirdly on his chest, he took off to the flower shop. This was a place he'd never been to, so he didn't know what to expect when he first stepped into the room. His nose was assaulted by the soft and sweet scent of flowers of every kind, there were so many to chose from that it was a little overwhelming. This was going to take far too long! Splendid's shoulders sagged as he made his way through the arrangements, trying to find something that would catch his eye.

It wasn't a surprise that a certain arrangement caught Splendid's attention, it was mostly a variety of blue flowers with a few bits of red and white here and there. He was about to reach for the vase when a bee buzzed passed his face, startling Splendid. He took a step back and bumped into the shelf behind him, accidentally knocking over a few vases. Annoyed that the bee would dare try to prevent him from getting the flowers he wanted, he decided that the best course of action would be to teach the bee a lesson. Those blue eyes burned, increasing heat until they reddened and then a beam of red heat shot out, slicing through the bee with a horizontal sweep. Nailed it.

Triumphant, he picked up the arrangement and carried it to the desk to face a surprised purple haired guy with a smattering of freckles on his face. Speechless in the face of a hero, nothing new. Splendid placed the correct amount on the counter and turned to leave. He was unaware of the fact that the top portion of Toothy's head slowly slid off onto the ground behind him.

Outside, Splendid faced another problem, he couldn't tuck the flowers into his jacket to protect them, which meant he couldn't hurry. Groaning out at the fact he'd have to fly slow, he drifted up to the sky and began to make his way painstakingly towards the hospital, the seconds seemed far too long for Splendid's liking. What seemed like hours, Splendid reached the entrance to the hospital, he would've just went to the window where Flippy was, but he didn't know where he was placed. Making his way to the front desk, he leaned against it, only to have his arm shoved off the counter and a napkin scrubbed over the smudge he left.

He glared with annoyance but Petunia didn't seem to notice or care as she threw away the napkin after cleaning her spotless desk. "Can I help you?" She said a bit distractedly as she went back to organizing the files in the cabinet. "I'm here to visit Flippy, what room is he in?" Splendid wasn't exactly in the asking politely mood by now, it had taken far too long and he didn't like the fact the woman wasn't paying attention to him, finding organizing and cleaning more important than him. A superhero! "Third floor. Room thirty five." She said briskly without even pausing in her work, guess at least she had hard working as a skill. Splendid was at least thankful that he didn't need to spend any more time conversing as he left for the slow elevator.

The music in the elevator was only further grinding on his patience, so tranquil as it it were to soothe the growing aggressive beta. As soon as the elevator dinged and the doors began to slide open, he began to squeeze through the opening door which was taking too slow to open. Stumbling to regain his feet and not spill out all the flowers he picked, he picked up a jog, turning his head this way and that to read the nameplates beside each door until he found the holy grail of nameplates. Thirty five. Eager to see Flippy again, he shoved open the door without using the knob, accidentally ripping the strike plate out of the doorframe along the gouging a hole in the doorframe. Which had been metal.

"Flippy!" He called out brightly as he burst into the room, startling the previously asleep omega. Flippy tried to calm himself by taking deep and even breathes, Splendid didn't seem to noticed as he was just relieved to see Flippy again. "I brought you some get well presents!" He was eager to show the green haired male, who seemed to perk up a bit after he managed to calm himself down. "Really? … You didn't have to." He murmured, he was glad to see at least a sort of familiar face in such a strange and new place. Splendid moved over to set the flowers on the bedside table. "Look, they're pretty right? They match my hair." He pointed out, Flippy let out a small laugh though winced a little as he strained. Splendid seemed to fumble a moment when he noticed the look of pain, the slight scent of that sweet scent sharpening a little, a sign that the omega was suffering.

As quickly as Splendid picked up on it, the smell was gone, returning to its usual steady scent, throwing the hero off a bit. "That's not all." He continued, trying not to lose his confidence in the face of Flippy. He pulled the plushie blue flying squirrel out of the front of his suit. "I got this too!" He held out the stuffed toy towards Flippy who looked a bit unsure about the gift at first. However, the look of a bit of stress melting from him as he took the soft toy and held it lightly to his chest. With it having been inside Splendid's suit, it already had a good amount of his scent on it, a warm sandalwood along with the vague hints of something else but one couldn't quite pinpoint. Regardless, Flippy ducked his head, hiding his smile against the top of the toy. "Thanks."

Splendid stood there as if struck as those green eyes lifted to meet his own, what was he doing again? He should say something. Anything. His mouth worked awkwardly as he tried to find the words to for a sentence but those eyes stole his voice away. What was happening? Splendid raised a hand up to press over his chest in attempts to calm his wildly beating heart. The silence stretched on and Flippy finally looked away, feeling the growing uncomfortableness at the suddenly speechless hero. Splendid was confused, he didn't know what was happening to him and he didn't feel comfortable enough to ask anyone for advice.

"Uuh… Right. No problem! That's what friends are for." He laughed nervously but put his hands on his hips in attempts to look confident. "So… How long are you going to be here?" Splendid tried his best to continue the conversation when all he really wanted to do was reach out and touch him. Splendid didn't make a habit of touching people so casually, he never actually comforted someone outside of saving them from physical harm. "A couple of days. They say I have a broken rib and fractures in my hand." He lifted his hand to show the the green cast about his hand and wrist. Splendid moved over to get a closer look, he pulled a marker out of the front of his jumpsuit, always carrying one so he could autograph things from his fans. Now he left his autograph on Flippy's cast. "There! People are supposed to sign casts, plus who wouldn't want the autograph from a handsome hero like me!"

He watched as Flippy examined the signature on his cast, a bit of color reach his cheeks, turning his head a little to the side to hide the warmth in his cheeks. "Right." He seemed to go quiet again, though as he seemed to think, there was a growing panic within the omega, making that scent shift again and causing Splendid to grow tense. Flippy began to feel around on his clothes, only to be reminded that he was in a hospital gown. Then he looked around for his clothes but couldn't see them anywhere. "Where are my things?!" Splendid looked around too, feeling a growing desperation, reacting to the omega in distress. "I-I don't know." When Flippy tried to sit up, Splendid pressed a hand against his chest to keep the frantic bear on the bed.

"You don't understand! I need to find my pills!"


	5. Chapter 5

Pills?

Splendid's brain stalled for a moment as he tried to remember if he'd seen any pills. He'd been a bit preoccupied dealing with his brother at the time. It took a moment for Splendid to realize what Flippy was talking about and relaxed with a bit of a sigh. An easy fix, no were in a hospital after all, so there was bound to be all sorts of medication here, right? "Don't worry, Flippy, I'm sure the nurses here make sure any omegas have their heat suppressants. Wouldn't want all hell to break lose in the hospital of all things. And even if someone did go into heat, they've got rooms for that."

He'd never seen the rooms, but being a Beta and a hero, it was pretty much mandatory to know what to do in a situation when an omega went into heat, since Betas usually could remain in their right min more than any of the other dynamics. Splendid had never personally be a witness to someone's heat, so he still was a bit uncertain how he would react, it usually varied from beta to beta. And being well, a Delta, it was even more unknown. He didn't really want to risk it if he could, but with his twin being an alpha, if things got bad in those situations, Splendid would have to shoulder it all.

"That's…" Flippy turned his head away, looking like he was struggling and not in the least bit comforted by Splendid's reassurance. "That's not it." He managed to continue but continued no further, his eyes downcast a little as he seemed to be struggling with something. Splendid wanted to help, wanted to bring back that glimpse of interest, of happiness he caught sight of in the library. He was fairly certain by now such a sight was a rare occurrence. Maybe he was still just trying to get used to moving to a new place, it would be stressful for anyone. Well, Splendid would do his best to help Flippy get settled, though it was off to a rough start with Flippy in the hospital.

"I can get a nurse if you wanna' talk to them about any mads you need." Splendid offered, since Flippy didn't seem to be forthcoming with what sort of medicine he needed. The green haired male hesitated as if he didn't want that, but eventually he nodded. If the guy needed medication for something then there was no getting by it. "Alright, I'll be right back and get a nurse, just stay there!" Splendid was eager to get Flippy to calm down, it was making him feel stressed out with the instinctive need to do whatever it took to get Flippy calm made his way out the door, his feet dragging a little as he really didn't want Flippy out of his sight for some reason.

When he reached the nurses' station, he managed to get the attention of one behind the circular desk. "Hey, my friend in room thirty five says he needs his medication. I guess he's been on them already?" He didn't know how hospitals ran really, this was his first time actually in one for other reasons besides accidentally crashing into it during one of his fights with Splendont. The woman looked up from her work, taking note that it was Splendid with a gasp. The hero would've grinned and preened a little if he didn't have other concerns on his mind.

"S-Splendid! Oh, um, right! We already have all his files from the previous doctors he's been too, they've been transferred over when he moved. He's already on the prescribed medication and we'll give him a new bottle when he gets ready to leave. Since, uh, everything was pretty wrecked yesterday." The girl looked away, not wanting to point out the reason behind the destruction, Splendid didn't press as he didn't really seem to care now that he got his answer. "Good, he was worried about it, so I need to go let him know." He tapped on the desk as a thanks and left back to Flippy's room.

The veteran was sitting up in bed, looking like he was trying to stand up, Splendid rushed over to place a hand on Flippy's shoulder. "Whoa, hey there, take it easy!" He leaned to help Flippy back on the bed, but the librarian protested. "I've been laying down all day, I'm sore." He tilted his head up to meet Splendid's eyes with a bit of defiance, though Splendid found himself frozen in place once again. Realizing he was close, too close to Flippy's face when he turned to look at him. He didn't intend to be this close, he'd only reacted to try to keep Flippy from hurting himself. Flippy's eyes went from rebellion to surprise, he could see his nose flare, taking in Splendid's softer woodsy scent, in contrast to his twin's sharper cedar one.

Splendid swallowed a little, knowing he should pull back, knowing that he shouldn't have just dragged in a lungful of that fresh, clean scent that hinted of sweetness. It was alluring, drawing him in when he should be pulling away, his breathing suddenly became quicker, matching his heart rate. Being this close, he could take in the smaller details of Flippy's face, while still holding masculinity, he had slightly rounded features, giving him a softer appearance, plush almost. Skin so smooth and warm in color, tempted Splendid to raise a hand, slowly, as if moving too quickly would shatter this moment. He wasn't even certain what sort of moment this was, but he knew he didn't want to ruin it.

Luckily, he didn't have to as there was a banging on the window.

Flippy quickly turned his head, trying to hide the growing pink tint on his cheeks as he reached up to toy with a bit of his green hair. Splendid, felt like the bottom just dropped, leaving him feeling cold. And then angry that someone ruined the moment he was having. Snapping his head around, he noticed his twin shoving open the window and leaning in on the frame. "Stop dawdling around, Splendid. Just because you're number two doesn't mean you can slack off on your duties." The red twin groused, then actually took in the scene, glancing from Flippy to Splendid as he was putting the pieces together.

Splendid wanted to sock his twin in the face, but he knew Splendont was right, he already spent most of the day thinking about Flippy. "Whatever." He snapped, walking over to the window, oblivious to the dark expression on his twin's face. "I'll see you around as soon as I can, Flip. Next time I'll bring some cookies!" Despite his anger at his twin, the idea of seeing Flippy again made him ease up a little as he drifted out of the open window and back to the never ending sea of work. Between being a superhero and news reporter, the stresses were mounting. However, now, maybe he had a reason to stay in Happy Tree.

—

 **Flippy's POV:**

He watched as the super twins flew off out of view, leaving Flippy alone once more. The smell of sterile floors made his nose wrinkle, nothing about the room offered any real comfort, the only splash of color were the flowers that Splendid had brought. He rubbed his arm a little when he thought about the hero, it had been a surprise that Splendid had come to visit. He was used to people avoiding him. Soon, they would, once they realized what sort of danger they were in just being around him. He had new medication and was starting fresh in a new town. This was his chance to enjoy his retirement in peace and maybe make actual friends.

He could only hope.

Pushing himself up to his feet, holding an arm around his chest as he pushed through the pain, he wanted to wash his face. He felt terrible and wanted to shower but he didn't trust himself to be able to stand up for very long, nor did he want to undress in a strange hobbled his way to the adjoining bathroom and closed the door, giving him some privacy to take a breath, the smaller, darker room was comforting even though it smelled of harsh cleaner that burned his nose. Turning on the water, he leaned over the sink and splashed cool water on his face, it was refreshing after he'd been out for so long.

Afterwards, he turned off the water and placed his hands on the rim of the sink, propping himself up as he allowed himself a moment to process things. To process Splendid. He'd never met a super hero before, he thought the guy had been joking until he witnessed him flying. It felt like he really lost his grip on reality, but everyone else thought it was perfectly normal. Maybe that was why his psychiatrist suggested he come here. If anyone could stop him, it would be the two heroes. What happened just moments ago, though? When Splendid was so close, it felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He couldn't allow himself to get attached, to let his heart get attached. It was too dangerous.

"Its too late for that, Flippy. That little beta has the hots for you."

A growling voice interrupted his thoughts but he didn't seem to startled. Looking up, his green eyes met sickeningly yellow ones as he looked into the mirror. It had been some time since his other personality had spoken up, Flippy knew better to have any hope to completely suppressing his other half. Flippy stared with tired eyes, just interacting with Fliqpy made him exhausted and weary, reminded of all the hell that had broken loose because of him. Flippy didn't want to deal with this other side, didn't want to have to deal with waking up covered in blood and gore. The war was over, but Fliqpy didn't want to stop.

"Can we not this time? I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

"Why would I stop when we have a new, sturdier toy right in front of us, Flippy?"


	6. Chapter 6

The past couple of days had been the best that Splendid had in a long time.

Spending time with Flippy had made getting through the day that much easier, even if Flippy was still in the hospital. Today, his new friend would be able to leave and Splendid was eager to show him the town. He'd brought Flippy all sorts of gifts to try to make his hospital room warm, more cozy and comfortable for the omega. His home made cookies, blankets, more flowers, anything that he thought Flippy might like, he brought. He could tell the veteran liked them, even if his smiles were brief and few and far in between, it made them just that more special to see. He never brought up the pills again, so Splendid figured the nurse had been telling the truth. Though it did make Splendid wonder what kind of medication Flippy needed. Was he sick? Did he have some sort of disease? Just thinking about Flippy being ill made Splendid's stomach twist in knots.

"Will you pay attention. The only reason I called you here is because its serious."

A voice interrupted his thoughts, he spent more and more time up in his head these days than normal, it would only end in disaster. He turned his head over to Splendont, who was, as usual, glaring at him with that permanent scowl on his face. It seemed to have gotten deeper in the past few days, not Splendid's problem though. The blue haired hero turned his attention to what Splendont had called him over for, the cafe he liked to visit was completely destroyed, collapsed in on itself and scorch marks stained the pavement. He could only assume a gas leak and some idiot striking a match, wouldn't be the first time.

"You pulled me away for this? Probably just some moron and a gas leak." Splendid waved his hand and turned his head away, knowing from the smell alone that there were dead bodies within the rubble, he could smell the metallic bite of blood in the air. If anyone was alive, he'd probably hear them. Probably.

"You're hopeless. If you'd use that small brain of yours for once you'd see this wasn't a accident." Splendont snapped back before he began to float over the rubble, Splendid following behind him, his curiosity hooking him and reeling him in. Splendont stopped over one of the partially exposed bodies, limbs were bent in wrong angles, bones exposed, skin charred as the scent of burning flesh made his nose wrinkle in distaste. He could tell from the scraps of pink hair and curved frame that this was likely Giggles, he wasn't too bothered by it, he'd seen everyone who inhabited Happy Tree die at least once with his own eyes. They would come back tomorrow, so there was no need to really be bothered by it.

"What about her? Its just Giggles. She's one of the waitresses here."

"I don't care who she is, but it wasn't the explosion or the collapsing building that killed her." Splendont drifted down to land on his feet, reaching over to tip her head back, having to use a bit of force since the body was already stiff. This exposed that her neck had a deep gash slit across her throat. Even that was enough to make Splendid's brow arch but otherwise appear unconcerned. He was far too used to unexpected kinds of deaths. Every day the citizens seemed to find new, creative ways to accidentally get themselves killed. However, Splendont should be just the same, used to all the weird ways of death by now. So it was a bit odd he'd think of anything other than an accident by now.

"Are you saying someone did this intentionally?" Splendid frowned at the idea, who would want to murder someone? Everyone here was happy with their lives, if it weren't for the curse and the clumsiness of the citizens, this place would be a utopia. Plus, he doubted anyone could really come up with such a plan and have it work out completely, Planning always ended in disaster with the citizens and no one escaped unscathed. Which meant it was possible the culprit was within the rubble still, but anyone beneath it all would likely be just mush and blood by now. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Well, this has never happened before and you're friend just recently moved here. He's an unknown, we know nothing about him." Splendont turned his attention back to Splendid, letting go of Giggle's head to float back up into the air, folding his arms over his chest in his usual annoyed posture.

"He's been in the hospital and can barely walk, I doubt he has any part in this. Maybe someone just finally snapped." Splendid tried to reason, he didn't want his twin thinking that Flippy, the sweet omega could possibly be behind such attacks. It made him frustrated to think his twin would think such a thing.

"You said he was in the military, so he's likely killed a person or two. Or more." Splendont reasoned, but Splendid was just having a difficult time wrapping his head around the idea. The facts sounded straight on, too possible for Splendid to want to admit out loud. Could Flippy really have done this? When Splendid had checked in on him this morning, he was still having trouble moving too much with his chest and hand. His dominant hand was still in a cast, which meant he couldn't possibly hold a knife. He'd studied Flippy closely enough, much to his embarrassment, to know that he'd never seen Flippy be able to use his left hand with much skill.

"Flippy's hand was still in a cast this morning and he's terrible at using his left hand, so there isn't any way he could have cut so precisely! And we can use scent, if the killer is still alive, they've had to escape somehow, right? If we can catch a whiff of their scent, we'll know right away!" Splendid perked up at his brilliant idea, looking at Splendont to expect him to be in awe at the fact he came up with a plan, his twin should be impressed. Splendont merely shrugged and began to drift away to get started with the idea.

"Worth a shot, better than floating around trying to get through your thick skull anyways."

Splendid rolled his eyes, figures, Splendont wasn't one to give anyone a compliment, especially not towards Splendid. The hero moved in the opposite direction, planning to start on the opposite side of Splendont and work his way around. He felt a bit foolish at the fact he was sniffing nearby walls and the ground for any trace of a clue, like some sort of scent hound. Technically, their sense of smell was better than any dog's, all their senses were heightened thanks to their super powers. It could be a hassle sometimes, easily overwhelmed by too much noise or scents, which was why Splendid and his twin lived outside of the town.

He was halfway through his perimeter check when Splendont called him over, having found a scent leading away from the scene. He knew Splendont wouldn't likely recognize the scent, his twin being more antisocial than he was. It was a miracle he could remember anyone at all, though it was a bit amusing when he got Shifty and Lifty mixed up, the two thieves hounded the red-head relentlessly about it. As Splendid drew near, Splendont had an odd expression on his face, giving off a bit of aggressive scent. Gross, such a sharp cedar scent was making his eyes burn. He'd never seen Splendont this amped up, even during their fights.

"Can you tone it down, Macho Man. You're going to cover up the scent we're supposed to track." Splendid drifted a bit away from his alpha brother, the vibes he was getting was making him get antsy and aggressive in return, wanting to face off against the both of them got out of control, their scents would not only mask the one they found, but they'd likely end up fighting again, Splendid had been enjoying their momentary peace treaty and wasn't too keen to see it broken just because his brother couldn't control himself.

"Whatever, I'm going back to the street for a breather, you find out who it is." Splendont turned abruptly to drift back to the front of the destroyed cafe, leaving Splendid to find out who the cause behind all of this was. He wasn't exactly eager to find out, slightly nervous that he'd catch the scent of juniper berries after all the facts Splendont had laid before him. He wished he could just turn away, to just ignore the fact murder had happened and pretend everything was fine and normal. Splendont was just seeing things, maybe he was stressed from all this hero work and wanted there to be more to their jobs than just babysitting clumsy citizens.

Splendid landed on the ground and crouched down, there was a few drops of blood, a trail leading a little ways down the alley before disappearing, the blood was from Cuddles, he already could smell that familiar other was stronger, more dominant as if the person was dominant and challenging whoever caught their scent. A direct threat, strong pine that made him bristle with the need to face the threat the scent present. It was no wonder Splendont had reacted so badly. This was an alpha scent, one that seemed to call out any other alpha and wanting to stake claim on Happy Tree. It was so unusual, the alphas that lived here were fairly peaceful, only having the occasional spat if there was someone in heat or rut.

With Splendont being the strongest alpha to reside in the town, to have another alpha claim what his twin perceived as his territory. The only one strong enough to face off against Splendont was him and Splendid really didn't care too much for 'owning' this town, especially when before he'd been tempted to leave the lost cause all together. Though, just because he had no interest really in the town, it didn't mean Splendont could boss him around, as his twin was well aware of. Regardless, this was a scent he'd never caught wind of before and thankfully, it wasn't the soothing scent of Flippy.

With that stress off his shoulders, he returned to Splendont, who seemed to have managed to get himself under control once again thanks to the distance between him and the threatening scent. "So?" Splendont asked tersely. Well, under control seemed to be an overstatement as Splendid narrowed his eyes in warning at his brother. He didn't care if his twin was riled up or not, he wouldn't be getting away with using that tone with him. Splendont growled in return of the glare, making Splendid bristle and growl back in his own warning. There was silence as they glared at each other in a tense standoff, neither willing to make the first move at the moment.

Finally Splendont sighed and tried to relax a little, though he didn't break the stare, his instincts wouldn't let him but he stopped presenting himself as a threat. "Just tell me so we can get this over with." He relented, apparently 'sorry' wasn't in his dictionary, but Splendid would take what he could get from the anti-hero.

"I don't recognize the scent, its definitely alpha, but none of the alphas I know. It can't be Flippy either, he's an omega."

"You know they have scent changers these days, right?" Splendont pressed still, putting Splendid on edge. His twin was right to be suspicious of the new arrival, but Splendid didn't have to like it, in fact, it made him defensive.

"I know, but the hospital has him on heat suppressants. And we both know alphas don't go into heat. And that scent wasn't a beta either. Not even a Delta could make such a harsh scent, we both know that much." Splendid reasoned. Heat suppressors were prescribed by a doctor, so one couldn't just buy them over the counter since they made anyone other than an omega sick if they took them. So even if Flippy was an alpha, doctors wouldn't give him heat suppressors. Flippy was clean and Splendid wanted his brother to leave it at that. Splendont gave the hero a long look, he wasn't convinced but thankfully he didn't press.

"Then who?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Splendont's POV:**

Who did he think he was? To just come in between him and his brother? Splendont was stronger, better, faster than the little omega. By all rights, he should be the one Splendid paid attention to. Instead he was stuck watching from his perch in a tree, a safe distance away, not because he was secretly spying, he just happened to be in the same spot as Splendid and Flippy. He'd never seen Splendid actually pay attention to someone for more than two seconds, so to see him actually walking with his feet on the ground beside the veteran made him feel something he never thought he would feel in a way like this.

Splendont was very familiar with jealousy, but in this manner was completely foreign.

Splendid was mentally younger than him and it had always drawn out some sort of protective instinct from within the twin. If anyone was going to beat up Splendid, it would be him. As of the past week occurred, Splendid had spent most of his time hanging out with Flippy, despite Splendont's words of caution. He still didn't completely trust the omega. It was just all too much happening at once to be just purely coincidence. One could fool Splendid easily, but not Splendont. He would be there to keep his brother safe if his theories were somehow correct.

During this time of watching Flippy, even when he wasn't with Splendid, nothing seemed abnormal about him. He was quiet and mostly kept to himself, then when someone said something kind or polite, there would be a faint smile on his lips. As if he wasn't used to receiving such kindness. He was beginning to see why Splendid liked him, even though Splendont hated to admit it. The retired soldier just had a way about him that drew people in and made Splendont confused with all the conflicting emotions going on.

Maybe if Flippy wasn't dragging Splendid away from him, he wouldn't hold any animosity towards the omega, but his luck wasn't that great. By all rights, Splendid should be paying attention to him, but Splendont knew the reason why he wasn't the one having a leisurely stroll through the park. He wasn't used to that type of stuff, Splendid had the blessing of not remembering his origins, but Splendont remembered it all and refused to ruin Splendid's serene life with those troubles from their past. He never thought they'd be able to escape it, but here they were and the only thing troubling his mind was the one making Splendid laugh.

It was fate that Splendid had freed him from the mirror, he owed everything to the hero and yet he had never managed to thank him.

How could he when all he wanted was to one up Splendid? Every alpha instinct within him demanded that he prove himself better than his twin, it was the drive that allowed everyone to know that he was capable as an alpha. He just hadn't realized that it meant something more that just proving Splendid was weak, he'd actually been trying to impress Splendid. The Delta thought he was unbeatable, that he didn't need anyone to protect him, which is why he was with an omega, because he knew he could protect Flippy. Splendont had proved several times he could beat Splendid, ignoring all the times Splendid had kicked his ass.

He would have to do something about this problem later, he had more pressing matters to occupy his mind. Like the strange killer who was still running loose. He'd scoured the entire town looking for that scent, it was such a strong scent that it couldn't be missed. However, it was like the person had vanished into thin air, Splendid claimed it was a ghost. Splendont had a more valid explanation, it was likely they were using some sort of scent suppressor. Anyone with that threatening and domineering of an alpha scent would drive all the alphas in the area mad, even some of the the threat to life running loose, even the omegas would be up in arms to defend those close to them.

So he kept the news to himself, Splendid he didn't have to worry about since he was completely wrapped around Flippy's little finger. If this kept up, it was only a matter of time before they took it to the next level, the idea of seeing a bonding bite on either one of them that weren't from him made him agitated. A low growl rumbled up from him before he could stop himself. He thought he had better control over himself than this. He wasn't wild and uncaring like his twin, he was supposed to be the cool-headed serious one. How was he supposed to work on this murder case if his mind always kept coming back to these two?!

He wanted to wait until he figured out who the killer was to figure out his feelings towards his twin, but at this rate, with all his alpha nature pressing on him, that was going to be was one thing he could do that would ease his mind, but getting it done would require fighting Splendid. It wouldn't be the first time and certainly wouldn't be the a goal in mind, he eased himself off the tree branch, giving himself a good stretch to limber up and get ready for a brawl. He would likely end up getting hurt, but when they both clashed seriously, neither escaped unscathed.

Slowly, he drifted higher and higher into the sky, watching the park grow smaller and smaller beneath him. Clouds drifted by around him, white and fluffy in appearance but Splendont wasn't in the mood to admire beauty at the moment. His eyes focused on the land beneath him, his super sight allowing him to pinpoint where Splendid and Flippy were currently buy ice cream from a cart. It was time to interrupt such a scene as he arched into a dive, letting himself become streamline as he dived. He could risk crashing down on Splendid, but despite his anger, he had no intention on harming Flippy, the soldier was still a citizen and he was still a hero of sorts. Plus, after all that observing, he really couldn't find it in himself to hurt the omega.

Instead he knew Splendid would snap his head back, hearing his twin dive-bombing down on him. Instinctively, Splendid shoved Flippy away and down to keep him safe as he launched himself up to meet Splendont in the air. With Splendont's greater speed, he crashed far heavier against his twin, twisting as limbs collided and fists landed against flesh with heavy thuds. Within the air, neither refused to give and inch as Splendid's fist slammed in a vicious right hook against his cheek, causing his head to jerk to the side. His lips peeled back to bare his larger, more intimidating canines, his lower lip busted from the blow. Snarling ripped through the air from the twins, feral almost as they wrestled for dominance while careening wildly about in the air.

Splendont slammed his palm in the center of Splendid's chest with enough force to knock the air out of him and tear him from Splendont. That red jumpsuit was in tatters from teeth and claws being bared from the more bestial of fights. Both were reacting to being in the presence of an omega, but Splendont moreso with not only the omega but the beta he wanted as well. A beta who continuously defied him around every turn. He reared his body back, lifting his right foot high up into the air before slamming it down as soon as Splendid crashed into the ground with a small dent. Though when Splendont's heel slammed down into his twin's abdomen, the small dent turned into a crater, the ground shivering as if in fear and awe of the raging alpha.

Splendid wheezed and rolled over onto his side, coughing before spitting out a bit of blood. By this point, Splendont would've left him alone, his dominance confirmed at least in this one fight. Not this time, however, too much was at risk and the fear Splendont felt was fueling his was on Splendid in an instant, hands encased in fingerless gloves slamming down on those shoulders, shoving his twin face down into the rocks and dirt. Even in this position, the dazed Splendid managed to growl in anger and warning, but it only made Splendont's scarlet eyes blaze further with the need to prove himself.

His bloodied lips were parted, panting heavily and causing the blood to mist in the air, filling it with the scent of metal and burning cedar. Rage boiled off him, it was enough to cower even alphas, but never his impossible brother who refused to be cowed by aggressive alpha brother. The man was an idiot and brought this onto himself as Splendont's jaws opened slowly, as if savoring the moment. His iory canines were thick and a bit longer than the usual alpha's, his lower ones had become a bit sharper in his more feral state. A string of thick heated saliva clung from their tips, making him look more savage than ever before.

It was then that he lunged for the back of Splendid's neck.


	8. Chapter 8

He could feel the heat of his brother's breath scorching the back of his neck and for the first time in his life, the hero felt fear.

He never thought in all his life someone would think about biting him, he was too much like an alpha to ever bend to the will of one. He didn't like it, it wasn't supposed to be like this. His brain was screaming at him to run, to fight back, but his body was frozen from shock and aching with pain from the abuse he'd received. If he hadn't been too concerned and wrapped up with Flippy, he might've been able to go all out without hesitation, but he'd been taken completely by surprise. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his twin's hands clamp on his shoulders with a near crushing grip, forcing him down as rocks and dirt scraped at his face but left no damage.

He didn't understand why his brother would bite him either, Splendid had tried to get along with his twin when they first met, but Splendont turned him down. They constantly fought and competed against one another, trying to prove that they were superior over the other. Was this just another tactic to use against him? He felt sick to his stomach at the thought, to have something that the romance books idolized, the bonding bite was meant for love and intimacy, to bring two people closer together. To know his brother would do such a thing, to taint such a pure and wonderful moment, he was losing hope in the red-haired male.

He had hoped that one day they could gain some sort of friendship. He hadn't hoped for a friendship like he had with Flippy, where it was all about reading quietly on the couch together or taking walks through the park. Splendont wasn't that type of person, but the other day when they had been investigating the crime scene, he felt like that sort of friendship could work. Splendont was his brother, he expected rough housing and bullying, but he wanted the good parts of being a brother too, parts that they were missing out on. Now, he feared he would never get that chance as he squeezed his eyes shut, simply waiting for the pain.

None came as suddenly the weight of his twin was knocked off his back, hearing the grunts and snarls of Splendont and someone else, Splendid hurried to push himself up to his feet. He swayed a little unsteadily and his back hurt like hell, but he was frozen in place by the scene unfolding before him. Splendont was a superbeing, the only one who could really go up against him was Splendid, so for someone to knock him off the hero's back and have him pinned on the ground had to be someone just as strong to face off against a raging alpha.

He just hadn't expected Flippy to be that person.

Yet here he was straddling Splendont with both hands wrapped around a combat knife as he leaned into it, putting his weight behind the blade while Splendont hand his own hands around Flippy's wrists, visibly struggling to keep the sharp blade from piercing through his right eye. He looked startled out of his feral state, taken off guard that the omega would attack him, but that was the thing about omegas. While they weren't quick to fight, they weren't ones to be messed with, especially when someone they cared about was in danger. They could be just as aggressive with their drive to protect and with Flippy's military training, he had the intent and ability to kill.

He had to stop this, he couldn't let Flippy hurt Splendont or vice versa. Even if Splendont had just tried to do something that Splendid wouldn't forgive, he didn't wish any harm on his sibling. He climbed out of the crater with great difficulty but the two seemed to be stuck in a stalemate, neither one backing down. It was so strange to see Flippy violent with the direct intent to hurt someone, his friend was all soft and kind, a gentle soul who seemed quietly reserved about the world around him. He wanted that Flippy back, before Flippy made a mistake he would certainly regret. When he managed to stumble over, he reached out a hand to place on Flippy's shoulder, his touch gentle to convey he didn't mean harm.

"Flippy? You… You have to stop."

The veteran jerked his head around to peer over his shoulder at Splendid. The hero could see those dilated pupils, ringed with forest green, he seemed almost lost in his omega senses, consumed by the need to protect. Usually only omegas attacked with the intent to kill when one of their kids were harmed or in danger, but Splendid supposed that being in a War had changed Flippy. The bitter scent of rotting juniper berries made him want to step back and avoid such anger, he didn't know how to respond to an angry omega when he only experienced butting heads with alphas. Splendid remained still, trying to force his scent back down after fighting against Splendont, doing his best to do what betas did, to soothe out conflict.

"C'mon, Flippy. Its over." He tried to soothe out, not realizing he'd put a bit of rumbling croon to his voice, relying more on his rarely used softer beta instincts to call back Flippy from his protective state. Flippy looked back at Splendont, slowly withdrawing as the adrenaline high was slowly dissolving, leaving his hands shaking as he holstered the knife back into its sheath hiding in the back of his pants. He didn't say a word as he stood up, Splendid couldn't get a read on that closed off face. He reached out, trying to drag Flippy into a comforting embrace, to tell him that everything was okay. Instead Flippy batted his hand gently away and began to walk away, leaving the two twins baffled.

"What the hell was that?" Splendont grunted as he pushed himself up to his feet as if he was more concerned about Flippy attacking him than what he'd been trying to do just before hand. The lack of an apology now that Splendont's head was clear from the alpha fog pissed Splendid off to know end. Did his twin feel no remorse for his actions? Splendid ground his teeth, his jaws clenching hard enough to make a muscle in his cheek twitch. That asshole. Everything had been going perfectly fine today until he ruined it. By now they were supposed to be heading back to his place and share dinner, Splendid had promised to teach Flippy how to cook so the veteran could help out around the kitchen.

Everything had gone out the window as it seemed Flippy would rather be alone right now, though Splendid was sure to visit him later to make sure he was alright. Maybe some desserts would help cheer the omega up, baking would give them some time to cool off. Right now though, there was no way Splendid was cool as his blue gaze turned onto his twin, leveling him with a glare that should make anyone fear. Splendont only bristled again, feeling the anger directed at him as he turned his head a little to make eye contact and hold it. The anti-hero held himself in a more defensive posture, which was unusual since Splendont was always eager to throw the first punch. Maybe he did feel a little guilty, but Splendid was about to make him feel a lot more.

—

 **Flippy's POV:**

When Flippy made it back to his home, he made a beeline towards his bathroom, nearly tripping over his own feet trying to get there. He needed his medication before he lost control, he'd been so close to losing it when he had attacked Splendont. He yanked open the mirror to reveal the medicine cabinet, his hands were far too shaky and uncoordinated as he was mentally distracted fighting for control. When he found the right medication bottle, after spilling a majority of everything on the shelves off into the sink and counter, he struggled to open it. He nearly ripped the entire cap off in his desperation and spilled out nearly half of the entire bottle's contents into his hand, a few more spilled over onto the floor.

He shoved the lot into his mouth and simply stuck his head under the faucet to drink straight from the tap, nearly choking himself in the rush to get the pills down. He didn't care if this was past the recommended dosage, he knew he wouldn't die from overdose, even though before reaching Happy Tree, he wished he could. Ever since coming here, meeting all the friendly people, meeting Splendid, he wanted something more in life. He wanted that dream of everything being nice, that everything could go his way without a hitch. But that was just a dream. He'd became too lax, too comforted by the thought that Splendid could protect him, keep him self from the aftereffects that the war had done to him.

It wouldn't be long now until the pills took their effect, with how many he took he'd likely pass out, meaning he and everyone else would be safe, at least for now. He just needed to remain in control until he could no longer move. He heard his other ego laughing at the line of thoughts and hesitantly, he reached up to close the medicine cabinet to face his tormentor. His green eyes adverted when he caught sight of yellow ones boring through him. Nothing was safe, all his thoughts and feelings were laid bare to Fliqpy. It was why he should've kept to himself, but now the one in the mirror could hurt him in even more ways.

"We were so close, Flippy!"

That cheerful tone was sickening and Flippy just wished the pills would kick in a little quicker so he didn't have to listen to his other half. He wanted some peace, luckily Fliqpy only spoke to him when he was alone these days, the violent personality had grown wise. Neither wanted to be locked away, so Fliqpy had grown accustomed to keeping himself under the radar.

"I really don't think a knife would do much against a super hero. Why don't you just give up before something bad happens." He sighed softly, before he had no hope of someone killing them. Fliqpy was inhumanly strong and skilled in the arts of war. However, they hadn't gone up against two superbeings before, Flippy knew they were practically indestructible from what he'd seen Splendid do, his friend was always eager to show off for the retired soldier.

"Quitters never win, Flippy. Everyone has a weakness, if not, I'll just have to create a new one."


	9. Chapter 9

The cold tile floor was the first thing Flippy noticed as he was starting to wake. How long had he'd been out was beyond his knowledge at the moment and yet he still felt exhausted. With no drive to get up off the bathroom floor, he remained laying there, his body felt heavy and stiff from laying on the hard surface for so long, reluctant to move. Green eyes stared at the numerous bottles of pills that lay scattered over the floor, luckily, none of them were open but he seemed to have knocked them all off the counter before he passed out. It was a reminder that he had to take his other medications before he was thrown out of sync.

He reached for a familiar bottle, squinting a little to read the label just to double check to make sure he had his heat suppressors correctly. Like birth control for women, he had t take one of these every day to prevent himself from going into heat. However, it was recommended from the doctors that an omega should plan at least two heats a year to be healthy. Flippy never had one in his entire life. By the time he reached maturity, he'd already been drafted into the military which forced any omega to be constantly on them. Getting a heat on the battlefield could lead to disaster, so Flippy had never the time to plan one out during his time.

When he'd retired, or rather dismissed, from the military, he was scared. He had it drilled into his brain that heats were bad, that if he went into one, it could cause suffering onto others. So he remained taking his medication without planning for a break. Sure, it was unhealthy, but nothing about Flippy's life was exactly healthy. With his alter ego a constant threat to everyone around him, he didn't want to have to deal with losing control because of a heat. He didn't know how he would act, if his ego could even come out during those times. He didn't want to risk it, it was difficult enough keeping him in check. So far, he hadn't killed anyone, Fliqpy liked to make sure Flippy knew when he killed someone. To let that guilt weigh on him, slowly crushing him.

He opened the cap and pulled free a tiny pill, too small that he was always afraid he'd drop it and it would go missing. He pushed it into his mouth and swallowed it dry, with it being so small, he really didn't need water. When he put the cap on, he knew he would have to get up sometime, even though he wanted to hide in the bathroom and just wish the world away. He couldn't face it, couldn't face the troubles of the world, couldn't face Splendid. What would his friend think after that show he pulled? Everyone was scared of him because he was ex-military, afraid because as a soldier, they knew he likely had killed people in the war. Here had been different, a fresh start and everyone had been welcoming because they hadn't seen the other side of him.

Now, both Splendid and Splendont had seen a glimpse of what he was capable of, they likely wouldn't trust him anymore. Already he missed hanging out with Splendid, how the hero made it seem like he'd been the most important thing in the world to him. He sighed out softly, letting his mind replay all the moments he spent with Splendid. He actually laughed the time he accidentally spilled flour all over Splendid's front when the blue haired hero was trying to teach him how to bake. In punishment, Splendid had hugged Flippy and transferred some of the flour onto him as well. Or the time they had to stay in because it was raining, the thunder usually scared him, but with a blanket around him and tucked against Splendid's side, he was able to continue reading his book in peace. Now, that would be all over.

He couldn't stay, it wasn't like he'd be better off anywhere else but here he couldn't face Splendid again, not after trying to kill his brother. He knew how the hero felt about Splendont, despite the ranting and frustration Splendid presented, it was obvious he did care about his twin. While it was tempting to just up and leave without telling Splendid, he just couldn't, he wanted to see Splendid just one last time, he needed to confirm his fears before he actually left. It would be a cold reminder as to why it was a bad idea to let anyone get close. He couldn't visit Splendid in his current state, his clothes wrinkled, hair disheveled, he wanted to at least look nice even though he felt on the verge of shattering at any moment.

Groaning, he pushed himself up, ignoring the mess he'd made with all his medication and other toiletries. He almost expected to see those horrendous yellow eyes greet him when he faced the mirror, but he was only face with his tired, ruined look. His skin a bit clammy and pale, looking exactly how he felt. He struggled through his daily routine, brushing his teeth, combing his hair which didn't look as feathery as usual since he hadn't taken a shower. He didn't trust his legs well enough at the moment to risk taking a shower. He knew he was still recovering from all the pills he swallowed, leaving him weak, but keeping everyone else safe.

Once he was presentable enough, he left the bathroom, leaving the mess as he had no motivation to clean it all up right now. Some coffee should help him clear his head as he made his way down the hall. One hand stretched out to brush against the wall, a safety precaution in case he lost his balance. He was far too used to collapsing, hitting his head, or breaking something during these moments. He didn't want to stay in Happy Tree any longer due to having to visit the hospital again. He had quite enough of that place, especially since it had taken a little while for Splendid to curb his strength and excitement around him.

When he made it to the kitchen and to the coffee pot, he paused when he reached for his bag of coffee, staring at the fact there were two bags. Splendid had brought it over when he decided to have a late night movie party and spent the night on the couch. Flippy had let him because Splendid had bribed him with the promise of making breakfast for him in the morning. Flippy hadn't realized how far he'd allowed Splendid to come into his life, it was borderlining from friends to someone in a relationship. That was something Flippy never imagined him having, but he'd been so caught up enjoying his time with Splendid, he never noticed the bond growing between them slowly and steadily.

He grabbed Splendid's brand of coffee and put it on after pouring water into the coffee maker, deciding to at least give it a try to see if he liked it. It was a foolish notion, to want to know what Splendid liked when he planned on running like a coward. He glanced at the fridge, debating on making breakfast but his stomach still wasn't feeling well, so maybe toast would help settle it. Once he put bread in the toaster, he stood in the kitchen, at a loss of what to do, normally he'd go outside and grab the daily paper to read, but he was scared to open his door, scared to face the outside world. In his house, surrounded by familiar sights and scents, he could find comfort in himself.

Restless now by standing and doing nothing, he moved into the adjoining living room to sit down on the couch, dragging his favorite blanket around him. Swaddled in the soft, velvety feel, it allowed him to calm down a little. Ducking his head, he buried his face into the brown throw blanket, inhaling the scent. It was supposed to be his soothing omega juniper scent, but now it was laced with the warm, powdery scent of Sandalwood. Splendid. He sighed out slowly, Splendid must have used the blanket when he stayed the night, Flippy hadn't had the chance to wash it, but since he didn't use it very often, it wasn't dirty. He closed his eyes, letting himself have a moment of weakness as he inhaled the mixed scent deeply into his lungs, letting it warm him, steady him.

He was tempted to just drag the blanket back to his bedroom and curl up on his bed, safely tucked away so he could pretend everything was fine. A nice, dark and cool retreat to let him rest off this 'hangover', maybe meeting up with Splendid could wait until tomorrow. He'd face the hero with a clear head, spending some time alone in his home would help ease the stress, he needed all the strength he could muster if he was going to face his friend. Splendid was popular, so it shouldn't be too difficult for him to move on. Everyone waved at him, smiled, and even idolized him. Flippy was just a veteran shoved to the side because no one really knew how to deal with someone like him.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, his eyes opening as his heart rate picked up the pace. A strange excitement buzzed through him because he knew the only one who ever visited him here was Splendid. He couldn't appear too eager when he wanted to rush to the door, couldn't let the fantasy he'd been living to resume. He had to face reality sometime as he pushed himself up off the couch. Doing his best to steel himself, trying to mentally prepare what he was going to say to Splendid as if that would make it any better. Slowly, he cracked open the door when he reached it, just enough to allow one green eye to peer out and up to quietly meet Splendid's.

He looked worse for wear, a few bandages here and there, likely from fighting his twin, but his usually perfect hair looked messy, as if he'd been constantly running his fingers through it. By the looks of the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes, the stress had kept him up all night, making Flippy feel veteran quickly glanced down and away, trying not to feel the draw Splendid had. He wanted to pull the hero close, for Splendid to hold onto him and tell him he wasn't going anywhere, that they were still friends. Maybe a little more than friends. Splendid pushed the door open gently, making sure Flippy didn't fall over. Flippy wanted to deny Splendid entrance, but he felt himself bending to the blue-eyed hero. Reluctantly, he stepped away from the door, allowing Splendid to enter.

He stared down at those red sneakers, watching them step into his home and hearing the door click as it was shut behind him. The silence stretched on as neither of them said a word, trying to find the right thing to say. Just when Flippy was about to break and start rambling about how sorry he was, he felt fingers curl beneath his chin, the touch was light, measured to keep Splendid from hurting him. With a tender urging, Flippy found his head being tilted up, his green eyes raising to meet Splendid's, his gaze full of fear, of heartache, and silent suffering. What Flippy saw in those blue depths stole his breath away, soft concern, a warm care along with something softer, something unspoken growing between them that both were too nervous, too scared to explore.

Flippy felt his body warm from head to toe, becoming aware of how close Splendid had gotten without him noticing, almost able to feel the warmth coming off of the hero's body. He stood there under the exploring gaze of Splendid, watching the taller male take in his features as if he simply couldn't get enough of them and committed them to memory. The scent of Splendid was welcoming, enticing, while it soothed it also sparked excitement at the same time, Flippy felt high off the scent. Then he could see it, Splendid moving slowly, cautiously as if one quick move could make the omega run away once again. Flippy stood rooted to the ground, entranced by how close Splendid was getting.

When he felt warm breath dance over his lips, Flippy leaned up on his toes, easing closed the gap between their lips, drawn in by the was forgotten the moment he felt those lips on his own, firm and yet soft, such contradictions were the perfect combination. Flippy was new to this, didn't know how to kiss aside from what he read in romance books. It seemed Splendid had figured it out after a moment of hesitation. Melting into the kiss as those lips moved against his, slowly encouraging Flippy to participate. Eventually, Flippy moved with Splendid, getting out of sync a time or two with their gentle motions but Splendid moved to get Flippy back on track.

A hand slid up his back, settling on the lower curve of his back, guiding his body closer until they were pressed together. Flippy's eyes drifted closed, letting the moment wash over him, the comfort and safety being in Splendid's arms making sure to chase away all his fears. The hand on his chin moved, gradually sliding his palm to cup one of Flippy's soft cheeks, treating the veteran as if he were made of glass. His skin felt highly aware of the contact, making him yearn for more. He wanted to be touched as if he was the most precious thing in the world, that he mattered even if only to one person. Eventually, Splendid pulled away, allowing Flippy to gasp for breath he hadn't know he needed, Splendid could've held his breath longer as his lips began to trail kisses down along Flippy's jaw, making the retired soldier tip his head to the side, and omega way of submitting and his own way to encourage Splendid for more of those kisses.

The kisses ended at his scent glad in the crook of his neck, usually hidden by the collar of his army jacket, but Splendid's hand eased one shoulder of the jacket off, exposing more of that marred skin. He should bee concerned, he wasn't certain if he was ready for this as it was a big step and Splendid seemed to be nuzzling against the source of Flippy's scent as if he was completely addicted and entranced. What he didn't expect was the tongue that dragged over his scent gland, making his entire body quake and drawing a quiet moan from him. It was far too sensitive to be normal, making Flippy start to struggle through the fog growing in his mind. Something was wrong here.

"Splendid, something… something's wrong." He managed to mumbled out between breaths, sounding dazed and distance. Splendid hesitated a moment as if struggling to stop for a moment before he looked up at Flippy. The hero looked torn between continuing to please the omega or to figure out what was bothering Flippy. Flippy needed air, the things Splendid was doing to him made him feel a little too warm in his clothes. Some space was needed, along with cool air to clear their minds. However Flippy was finding it difficult to pull away from the comforting embrace and the promise of what Splendid could give him. He shouldn't feel like this.

"Did, um, did you take your medicine." Splendid seemed to manage to slur out as if drunk, but it didn't make sense. Flippy had made sure to grab the right bottle, he had read the label and everything. Now that Splendid had suggested such things, Flippy did sort of feel like this was what the beginning of a heat would be, if he believed what he read in romance books. His fingers curled into the front of Splendid's jumpsuit, clinging to him as he looked confused as to why this was happening to him.

It was only when he heard familiar laughing echoing in the back of his mind, he knew what his alter ego had done.


	10. Chapter 10

Splendid woke up feeling like he'd been hit by a bus. No, that wasn't right, because he knew what it felt like to be hit by a bus and this was ten times as worse. He could only assumed this was what it felt like to have a hangover as he slowly pushed himself to sit up… on the floor? Why wasn't he in his bed, he glanced over at the bed, the pastel green sheets were definitely not his. His bed was covered in blues, whites, and reds to match him. It hurt too much to think as he felt an arm slide to curl about his waist, looking down, he first noticed it was Flippy laying beside him on the floor. The second was there was an absolute lack of clothing, making him able to see that both their bodies were littered with bites and scratches, amazed that the omega had actually broken his skin, a feat in itself. Guess he'd never underestimated an omega in heat.

Heat.

That's what happened and he felt himself still as he realized what he'd done. Splendid would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about doing intimate things with Flippy, but he wanted to wait, hell, he hadn't even asked if Flippy would even be his boyfriend yet. He felt terrible that he missed out on the chance to woo Flippy like they did in the romance books he read, he wanted to go out on romantic dates and have their first kiss be something really special. He groaned and dragged his hand over his face, suddenly realizing something was missing. His mask. He never took it off and yet, here he was bare faced for who knows how long. He panicked a little, but then when Flippy's arm tightened around him, he was reminded why it was likely off. It was better that way, to be completely exposed during such intimate moments, a show of complete trust and faith in his omega.

He sighed out and moved to wrap Flippy up in the blanket they had shared, taking a look around to noticed every pillow in the house along with various blankets, towels, and worn clothes were enveloping them, making Splendid go still. He'd never actually been in a nest before and Flippy must have done this while he slept, because all Splendid could remember was things that made his face heat up. He abandoned the plan on moving Flippy to the bed, the nest was a comforting and safe place and he didn't want Flippy waking up out of it. Splendid would like to stay a little longer, but he was starving and the idea of making Flippy breakfast appealed to him. Hopefully it would make up for everything that had happened between them.

While he regretted having done such things with Flippy, it wasn't because he didn't want to, but he had just wanted to wait a little while longer. However, he couldn't take it back and had to move forward and there was no way he'd leave Flippy. Pushing himself up to his feet, he dug around carefully for his jumpsuit, retrieving his phone to check the time. However, it was dead, sighing, he pulled on his boxers and left his jumpsuit in the nest, not wanting to disrupt Flippy's nest too much but he couldn't walk around the house naked either. When he entered the living room, he pulled Flippy's phone charger out of the wall and carried it to the kitchen with him, plugging up his phone to charge while he began breakfast for two.

He pulled on the pink, frilly apron Splendid had bought Flippy as a joke when he had started teaching Flippy how to cook and set to preparing a healthy breakfast. They needed it with how drained Splendid felt, he could only imagine how Flippy was faring. While the cinnamon rolls were in the oven, Splendid picked up his still plugged in phone and turned it on, only to get assaulted by tons of notifications. Most, if not all were from Splendont, a couple were from work. All were about trying to find where he was. He hadn't been gone that long, had he? Glancing up at the date on the phone, he nearly dropped the device. Five days! He'd lost five days of time? It all had blurred together that it had only seemed like one night, possibly a whole day, but five?!

At that moment, his phone chimed his hero theme and he looked down at the screen, seeing it was his brother calling for the millionth time probably. Dreading this conversation, he knew he couldn't postpone it any longer. Answering it, he held it up to his ear. "Hello?" He asked as if he didn't already know who was on the other end, he could almost feel the rage from the other end of the line.

"DON'T YOU HELLO ME. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Splendid flinched back away from the phone, his ears ringing from the shouting from the speaker. He rubbed his ear, ignoring the rest of what Splendont was shouting at him, probably all sorts of things he didn't really care really annoyed him that Splendont though he had a right to worry over him after that last stint he pulled. Though Splendid had kicked his ass so hard he had been likely too far out to track him to Flippy's. He sighed out and reached over to pour himself a mug of coffee as he sort of listened to Splendont rant and rav on the other end of the line. He was just glad he didn't have to deal with his alpha brother in person right about then.

"I've been at Flippy's house." Splendid said as if that excused him for going missing without a trace for five days. Flippy was a solitary omega, living near the woods, out of the town, so it wasn't a surprise Splendont hadn't found him. He was glad for it too, Splendid would've fought his twin seriously for once in order to keep the alpha away from Flippy. It was confusing, to love and hate a man at the same time, but he just wrote it off as being brothers.

"FOR FIVE DAYS?! WHAT WERE YOU DO-" Splendont cut himself off as he seemed to figure it out mid-sentence, there was only one real reason why someone wouldn't leave a house for any extended period of time, especially when an omega was involved.

"You didn't."

"I did." Splendid said, maybe a bit too smug with his words but he couldn't help but to rub it in his twin's face, it was just in his nature. He could almost hear Splendont's teeth grate through the phone, making Splendid smirk a little as he took a sip of his coffee, testing to make sure it wasn't too hot.

"We have a serial killer on the lose and you're off consorting with the number one prime suspect?!" Splendont growled over the phone, a little too much for Splendid's liking and he bared his teeth. Though it was pointless since Splendont couldn't see unless Splendid decided to face time. He didn't exactly look like his model form at the moment, though the idea of flaunting all his bonding marks to his twin did sound appealing. Maybe later.

"Well, what were you doing this entire time, huh, Mr. Anti-Hero?"

"I was looking for you!" He snapped, Splendid knew he'd likely try to throttle Splendid if he could.

"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, thank you very much."

"Bullshit." The seething tone made Splendid snort in laughter, it was just too good to get under his twin's skin, especially when he could do nothing about it. "I also called your work and let them know you were missing and not just skipping out on work, so your welcome."

"I'll take that concern as an apology for trying to mark me." There was silence over the line, he seemed to have effectively put out the fury that Splendont had by reminding him of the mistake he almost committed. Splendid still didn't want to think about it, he didn't know how it made him feel, not knowing what Splendont's intention had been when he thought to mark Splendid in such a the moment, he had other things to attend to, like taking care of Flippy, knowing it might be a day or two more before he made sure Flippy was recharged and ready to go out again. Luckily Flippy had an emergency stock of protein bars and water bottles, he guessed that was just leftover from his military days or just good planning for an omega.

"Whatever. Hurry up and get back into fighting shape, lucky for you no murders happened while you were gone. But I don't know how long this Silence will last."

"Do you think they got scared and booked it when they saw we were on the case?" Splendid frowned a little, trying to have high hopes that whoever had killed those people had left, he didn't want to think about the danger Flippy could be in. It made Splendid tempted to lock Flippy away inside and they both just hide out here. Maybe in a bunker. with several hundred loc-

"I don't think so, that scent wasn't from someone who would be easily intimidated. It was almost as if they were flaunting their power." Splendont seemed to have cooled off now that they were talking about another topic that required a more level head. "I'll look more into what I can now that I don't have to look for your sorry ass. I'll call you later. And you better pick up." He growled out the threat before handing up, making Splendid frown at his phone.

"So much for a goodbye."

"Who were you talking to?" A voice came from behind him, smooth and warming every inch of Splendid, even though he hadn't heard Flippy's arrival, the sound of his voice eased any surprise. He turned to look over at Flippy, who was wearing only his black boxers. He looked adorable with his sleepy face and yet good enough to eat at the same time. Splendid didn't want to get carried away with his thoughts, so he poured another cup of coffee and pressed it into Flippy's hands. He watched Flippy take small sips, making a 'mm' sound from the warmth.

"Splendont, He was just checking up on me. You know, the over protective brother thing. Now go sit on the couch and I'll bring you breakfast. My treat." His tone was more of a request than a demand and further eased it by leaning over and placing a kiss on Flippy's forehead before taking Flippy's shoulders and turning him around. Though before Flippy could move, Splendid gave him a playful smack on the backside to get a squeak and a glare from Flippy before the veteran retreated to the living room.

It didn't take long for Splendid to prepare a tray of cinnamon rolls slathered in his home made orange icing, along with a glass of orange juice and a few pieces of breakfast sausage, the smell made his stomach rumble in eagerness, but this tray wasn't for him, first he had to make sure Flippy was taken care of before he fixed his own plate. He presented the tray with a dramatic little flourish, pleased with himself with another successful meal made and he couldn't help showing off his amazing culinary skills a little. Or maybe a lot. Flippy's eyes brightened from their tired state, the scent of food waking him up a bit more as he was waiting for the coffee to hit his system. "I'm starving. Are you going to eat?" Flippy looked up with concern, not touching his food yet as he noticed Splendid didn't have a tray.

"Yeah, couldn't carry it all in one go, so dig in while I fix my plate." He leaned over to press a kiss on Flippy's cheek, unable to help himself, he just felt so… happy. Like every stress and worry he'd ever felt had melted away, finally things were going his way. He prepared his own tray of food a bit more quickly, wanting to get back and sit beside Flippy. He felt odd being apart from the omega, which was going to be a problem since he was a super hero and had a job. He'd worry about those details later. Either way, Flippy wasn't optional, everything else was. He finally made his way back to the living room to sit beside Flippy, who seemed to relax as well with him close, so it wasn't completely one-sided it seemed. Flippy paused in his eating, glancing over at Splendid before speaking.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?"


	11. Chapter 11

That was a conversation topic that Splendid was afraid of, but he knew he couldn't avoid it forever, there was no turning back and he had to figure out a way to make things work. He wanted them to work, but this was a new terrain he hadn't prepared for. He never stopped or had the time to think about possibly bonding with someone, he was always self-absorbed in just wanting some time to himself that he never added someone else to the no he had to reconfigure all of his plans, which were bare to begin with as Splendid wasn't exactly the planning type. He liked living in the present, never really thinking ahead which usually frustrated his twin to no end.

"Well…" He took a deep breath and set his coffee down on the tray, preparing himself because he needed to say something, anything to reassure Flippy in some way. "I wanted to take you out to a nice dinner or something and ask if you wanted to be my boyfriend, but it seems recent events have pushed things ahead of schedule." He cleared his throat, his cheeks a little red from having admitted to wanting to ask Flippy to be in a relationship with him. He glanced over at Flippy, the veteran's cheeks pink as well, but he remained silent, wanting Splendid to continue. "If you want, not because you're pressured by the bond or anything, I'd like you to be my boyfriend. Its completely up to you, because I know I'd like to still be around you. You make me feel, oh I don't know how to explain it, but I just sort of feel happy waking up every day knowing that I get to see you again."

Splendid stopped himself before he could ramble on, his face burning with embarrassment of how much he spilled out. The idea of Flippy leaving him made him anxious, he didn't want Flippy to cut off their friendship just because he hadn't managed to control himself. He should've been able to, at least the the earlier stages, but once his lips were on Flippy's, he hadn't been able to stop. Flippy remained quiet, the silence making Splendid feel restless, needing an answer before he keeled over from stress. However, he knew this was a serious matter and he couldn't press Flippy into doing something he hadn't thought over thoroughly. Even he hadn't really thought about it but it was just in his nature to jump without looking.

"I'd like that." Flippy finally stated, he still looked a little conflicted as if something was holding him back from being truly happy. If the trays weren't preventing them from moving, Splendid would've reached out and dragged Flippy into a hug. Maybe even a kiss. Instead, he reached out and took one of Flippy's hands in his own, lifting it up to his lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. His gaze lifted, catching the wide, surprised stare of Flippy. He looked startled by such a soft gesture, as if he never received on in his life. Maybe he hadn't, Splendid didn't know a lot about the veteran's past, he was pretty tight lipped about it. Splendid understood, he didn't want Flippy to draw up bad memories, instead Splendid planned on making more memories, ones that Flippy would be happy to recall.

"Let's finished eating breakfast and then we'll wash up. I have the next couple days off, so we can take our time to recover." Splendid gave one last kiss to Flippy's hand before releasing it, his heart felt lighter than it had ever been, he finally had what he wanted for once.

—–

Days later.

Splendid was at work, his citizen job at the news station, he was busy trying to catch up on his leave. He had explained to his boss what had happened and while he didn't get fired, he had to get all his work done. Luckily, Splendid was good at his job, even though most of the stories he had to cover were fairly lame, he made due. It wasn't like there was anything really exciting going on, people forgot any disaster that happened to them the next day, so Splendid had to keep that from the news. If people found out about the curse, he wasn't sure how they would react. Splendont had mentioned something about their lack of fear could make them even clumsier and careless. Or even start killing each other off with no morals. It was one of the main reasons Splendid worked here.

He was just about to take a lunch break when his phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling it free from his black slacks to see it was his twin calling him. That wasn't good, Splendont only called him if something was wrong or if Splendid went missing apparently. Sighing, Splendid took his glasses off and set them on the desk, rubbing his eyes a bit. They were aching from the strain of so much work in such a short amount of time. Answering his phone finally, he didn't give Splendont a chance to speak. "Give me a minute." Splendont gave an affirmative noise as Splendid pushed himself up out of his rickety chair and went back to one of the supply closets and leaned against the door so no one could accidentally come in while he was having a conversation that was meant to be private. "Alright, I'm good, what do you want?"

"There's been another time it was only one person. I can't get near the body, the scent is so think that I can't think straight."

Splendid felt his stomach drop, everything had been going so well that Splendid had hoped they were just reading too far into the accident, but it seems like the problem wasn't just going to fade away. He raked his fingers through his hair, instantly feeling a bit of panic chill his veins. Flippy was back at work today, was he safe? Maybe it was too early to go back into the world as Splendid was struggling to keep himself calm. He reassured himself that Flippy could handle himself, he was a war veteran and after the show he put on attacking Splendont when Splendid was in trouble, he felt that Flippy would be able to properly defend himself.

"Splendid?" Splendont's voice interrupted his thoughts before he could do something crazy like shoot through the roof and speed off towards the library. "Where are you at?" Splendid inquired, his voice slightly off from still feeling the effects of his panic. He lifted up his red tie to wipe his face from the bit of sweat that had broken out.

"At the grocery store, they closed it down and I told everyone to go home, they were all clean."

The store, that was on the other side of town from the library, which offered some solace to Splendid. Still though, he had to ditch work to take a look at the body Splendont found. If his boss was going to fire him then he'd just have to do what he usually did whenever the moron tried to fire him. Snap his neck right before he could tell Splendid he lost his job. The guy wouldn't remember it the next day and by now Splendid was used to it. It was something he had to do, one life to spare the sanity of others. "I'll be there shortly. I'll talk to you then."

Hanging up the phone before Splendont could respond, a bit of revenge for the other day when Splendont had hung up on him, Splendid exited the closet with a stack of paper, so he wouldn't look suspicious going into the supply closet and exiting without something. He set the paper on his desk and waved at his photographer and secretly his biggest fan, Sniffles. "Hey, Sniffs, I'm taking my lunch break." The younger male nodded and waved, too busy trying to fix his camera or something, Splendid didn't really know nor did he care to find out. As he began to descend the stairs, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, getting ready to change out into his super hero gear.

Glancing around for a moment to make sure no one was watching, he stepped into a phone booth, with a bit of whirling and speed changing, Splendid slipped out wearing his usual super getup. Now comfortable, he darted up into the sky, picking up speed so he could hurry up and get there, slightly concerned Splendont would break from the scent, he'd seen how aggressive his alpha brother had became and didn't want some poor passerby to deal with that. When he reached the super market, Splendont was pacing just outside the front doors like a caged tiger. His twin's scent alone was warning enough for all others to stay away from him, luckily he was outside because his scent would've likely drowned out any clues.

"Keep that up and you'll walk a trench into the sidewalk."

He watched as Splendont sent his a withering glare, only to pause and let his gaze linger down to Splendid's neck. Splendid stilled, this would be the first time his twin would see the bite marks on his neck, they were vicious or brutal in appearance, the teeth marks that had pierced his skin were fine red lines by now, in perfect and neat little shapes of Flippy's mouth. Splendont only seemed to bristles and more waves of his suffocating musk wafted off of him, making even Splendid take a step back a little and look away despite never wanting to appear passive around his brother. This wasn't the time or the place to get into a fight with his twin.

"So, um, tell me what happened." Splendid tried to deflect the attention back to the task at hand. Splendont almost appeared like he wasn't going to let the matter of the bitemarks go, but eventually managed to rein himself in.

One of the shelf stockers came in early this morning to get everything ready as usual. The little red-headed omega-"

"Flaky?"

"Yeah, that was her name I think. Well, when the manager came in later, he noticed none of the shelves were stocked and decided to go find her. She's still in the walk in freezer behind the meat section. It reeks of the same scent as before, I didn't get to track the scent, it was too risky with my alpha nature going out of control."

Splendid frowned a bit, he didn't trust his own Delta nature either, but he was less of a risk than his brother and there was no one else to do this job, they couldn't let anyone know that there was a murderer on the lose. People would panic, the news would try to cover the story, neither of the twins wanted that. With a defeated sigh, Splendid nodded his head and steeled his shoulders, preparing to face the scene and the scent by himself. Slowly, he pushed open the door, the small chime echoing ominously through the barren store, giving Splendid the heebie jeebies with a large place supposedly filly with people being so empty at this time of day.

He floated over the polished tile floors, never one to walk unless it was to walk beside Flippy, giving him a chance to hold hands with the omega. As he made his way to the meat section, nothing seemed out of place, everything was clean and undisturbed, one could almost believe nothing was wrong, until he pushed open the twin doors to the butcher's place, he was hit with the stench of an aggressive alpha, making him reel back a little and pull his scarf up over the lower portion of his face. He tried again, his eyes watering from the burn. Everything was clean, precisely the way it shoulder be, but Splendont had said the freezer, the door to it was still left slightly ajar.

Slowly, fearing the worst, he pulled the door open.


	12. Chapter 12

The sight that greeted Splendid was something that was straight out of a horror film, the hero had seen a lot of gory deaths but all of them had been accidents. To know someone deliberately did this made his stomach churn, holding the back of his hand up to his covered mouth as it that would keep his breakfast down. Someone had chopped the poor girl up and hung the pieces on the meat hooks. Blood was iced along what skin he could see, the blood on the floor was frosted with more ice. He had to look away, this couldn't keep happening, the very sanity of the town was at risk here and yet neither him nor his brother where anywhere closer to finding out who was behind all of this. He wanted to close the freezer door, but it was up to him to see if there was anything that might give the heroes a hint to who was behind all of this.

Splendid was careful where he walked, not wanting to slip in the icy puddles of blood. He held his scarf firmly over his mouth, the scent of the alpha wasn't as bad thanks to the cold air, but Splendid didn't want it clouding his mind and stirring up his more aggressive Delta nature. First, Splendid examined what was left of the hands, the fingers were disfigured, broken and bent in odd angles as if the person had tortured the girl. Splendid didn't know much about Flaky, the shy tomboy kept to herself, but she always had the loudest scream, it was a surprise that no one had heard her. Though it was possible that the murderer had gagged her. Gently, he examined beneath the fingernails, hoping that she struggled and clawed some of the murderer's skin off. DNA testing was really the source of forensics that was decently reliable.

His brother had told him not to trust all the mystery books and crime TV shows which blasted ways to find people by fingerprints, lie detectors, or even eye witness accounts out of proportions. Nothing was ever solid evidence, there was no computer to match fingerprints, it was all done by a person who compared them and people alone with ruled by their own personal preferences. When the woman's nails were clean, mostly, he sighed, either she couldn't have put up a struggle or the alpha had cleaned her hands. He could see for any blood that might've been the murderer's but there was already so much blood from Flaky everywhere it would be near impossible to get a clean sample. All he had to go on still was the scent.

Defeated, Splendid made his way out of the store to meet up with his brother, who was still pacing restlessly outside the front of the store. Splendont raised his head, on alert and hopeful as he looked over at Splendid. The blue haired hero made a grim face and shook his head. Now they had to do clean up, Everything had to look like an accident, but there were witnesses who knew Flaky hadn't died by accident. Which meant someone had to take care of them as well. Blue eyes met red as they glared at each other, the thought crossing both of their minds. Neither wanted to be tasked with that responsibility. So they had to settle it like men.

Both of them threw their right fists out, only to stop halfway between them, it would've looked like they were about to punch each other but at a closer look at their hands it was a different story.

"Looks like you lose, Splendick." Splendont taunted as all the fingers in his hand were curled except for the index and middle finger, resembling scissors. "Take care of Disco Bear and Nutty, they're the only ones."

"Shit." Splendid grimaced as his hand was flat, like paper. "Whatever, I'll get it done, you get rid of the building in the meantime." He gave one last glare at his brother, he always hated having to kill the citizens of Happy Tree, but all was needed in order to maintain some sort of peace in this cursed town.

—

Splendid stepped out of the bathroom in a fresh pair of his favorite heart patterned boxers, still drying his bright blue hair with a towel when he heard his phone ringing from his desk. He'd just finished cleaning up, washing the blood stains out of his jumpsuit and then showering to wash the blood out of his hair and off his skin. Nutty had provided somewhat of a problem since the guy wouldn't stay still long enough to make the kill quick and painless. The mess was so bad that Splendid had to basically set the guy's house on fire to cover it all , everything would return back to normal, but how long it would stay that way until the murderer chose they're next victim, was unknown to Splendid.

He hurried over to his phone, hoping it was Flippy. He had texted his boyfriend as soon as he got home and had invited Flippy to come over after he cleaned up. Flippy agreed, but he'd stop and pick up food along the way for movie night. Instead of Flippy, he noticed it was just his brother. Annoyed because of his disappointment, he reluctantly answered it. "Don't tell me something else has happened, I just got all cleaned up!"

"No one cares, its our job as heroes, so stop whining." Splendont sounded a bit tired, he was probably crashing from being so worked up earlier.

"So what is it?" Splendid questioned, wondering why his brother would call him, while he wished he could just have a casual call with Splendont, the Alpha was too ornery and stubborn. Soft emotions and feelings were something he didn't have, or at least show.

"I've been thinking over it, since none of the people in Happy Tree smell like this, do you think they could be using some of the medication? You know the ones that change your scent? I've never looked into the stuff."

Splendid set his phone down and put his brother on speaker phone since he was home alone and the call wasn't an emergency. He used the time to begin getting dressed for Flippy to arrive, anticipation thrumming through his veins. He'd been all day without seeing his newly dubbed boyfriend and he was eager to see the veteran. "Its possible, but you have to have a presciption for that stuff. Its not like they hand those over the counter to just anyone. Though, I don't know anyone who takes the scent masking or scent changer drugs. Most people keep it a secret because they don't want to be judged by their decisions."

The phone was silent for a while, making Splendid pause in pulling over his white shirt to glance at his phone in case it had accidentally turned off or he lost the call. It still displayed that he was on the line with his brother, the alpha must be lost in thought. Unlike Splendid, Splendont took his time to mull things over, as long as he didn't lose his temper, which was easy to do. "So, if they have to get it prescribed, they must have seen a doctor."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Shut up, I'm just following a train of thought here. Since that information is private and we're not exactly the police, we need to get into the doctor's files and see everyone who is taking that medication."

"What you're saying is illegal, you know that right?"

"Says the man who just killed two people without batting an eye."

"Eh, you get used to it. So what you're trying to say is that we sneak into the hospital and look up all the records without getting caught. That sounds impossible, I don't even know the medical name for the stuff, its probably some long name that will only give me a headache if I try to pronounce it." Splendid groaned, espionage wasn't his strong suit, being sneaky wasn't something that was in his dictionary. He like impressive displays and showing off. Not to mention, they were heroes, Splendid was noticeable and popular, no one would simply glance him over. Even though Splendont was more reserved and closed off about his job, he likely couldn't get away without being noticed either.

"Do you ever stop complaining? Look, just meet me in front of the hospital tomorrow morning at nine and I'll brief you when you get there."

"If we get caught, its your turn to do clean up, just remember." Splendid's phone dinged, indicating he had a message, he looked at the phone to see a notification of Flippy texting him that he was on his way. "Anyways, gotta' go, Flippy's on his way over. So don't call me again until morning. See ya!" He tapped the end call button and went into this messages to text Flippy back to let him know movie night was still a go. He would've cooked them dinner, but he didn't want to wait that long since it had taken all his spare time cleaning up after himself and making sure there wasn't a drop of blood in his clean and pristine home. He hurried downstairs, taking the steps too at a time before pausing in front of a wall mirror, checking on his still damp hair, it wasn't its usual boyish part, but it was still perfectly and handsomely messy.

Next, he moved over to the couch, making sure there were an appropriate amount of pillows and blankets, with autumn here, he liked to cozy up in them. Now he had gone out and bought a heating throw blanket for Flippy, hoping he'd like it in the coming colder months. He had done some reading about Omegas, but he took them as suggestions rather than rules as the website indicated that every omega was different. Being a Delta, he knew all about being a variant from the norm. Still though, he recalled that Flippy always seemed to have a certain blanket around at his house, one Splendid had accidentally rubbed his scent all over during their time of Flippy's heat and his first rut.

After fussing over the couch a few times, trying to get things right, he heard a knock on the door, instantly he was there, his speed causing the curtains to his windows to flutter up in protest from his speed. Opening the door he spotted Flippy with his arms full with to-go bags, he gave Splendid a little smile over the top of the bags. Splendid could only stand there for a moment, struck by seeing that partial smile, even now Flippy wasn't used to smiling completely, always appearing nervous to show his happiness. It took all his restraint not to sweep Flippy up into his arms and kiss him until he chased away all those reserves. Instead, he gently took the bags from Flippy, not wanting him to have to carry them any longer.

"I'm glad you managed to come over, its been a long day and I could use a bit of happiness right about now." He leaned over to place a kiss on Flippy's cheek, causing the shorter male's cheeks to pinkened as he let out a small laugh. Splendid's heart did a little flip at the sound, he had to pull away, leading them into the living room so he could set out the food on the coffee table. "Get comfy and I'll get us some drinks!" Not wanting to be apart from Flippy for very long now that he had the omega here and so close, he rushed to the kitchen to make them both some lemonade, with three cubes of ice and even a little slice of lemon wedged on the rim. When it came to all things food and drink, Splendid was a perfectionist and a show off.

Returning, he set the glasses on the table and took up a spot on the couch beside Flippy, the food was momentarily ignored by him, but not by Flippy. Instead, Flippy had already started to dig in and Splendid took the opportunity to reach over and brush a bit of that feathery green hair out of his face, causing Flippy to look over at him with a softening look. It seemed Splendid wasn't the only one who missed the others' touch. "How was your day, Flip." He asked softly, almost mesmerized by being able to take in the sight of the veteran after a long day of going without, not even being able to hear his quiet but steady voice.

"It was nice, though it was really slow today, but I guess that's how it is on the weekdays." Splendid was relieved to hear that, he'd rather Flippy have a quiet and slow day rather than the average day in Happy Tree. At the thought of Flippy having one of those days, he felt a bit chilled and his arm curled around Flippy's shoulders to drag him close, into the shelter of his body. The omega let out a surprised noise around a mouthful of food, but was calmed when Splendid nuzzled his face into those vibrant locks. Closing his eyes, he took a deep inhale, letting the comforting scent of junipers sooth away his fear. Flippy would always come back, would always come back to him. "What's wrong, Splendid?"

"Nothing, there's nothing to worry about when I have you."


	13. Chapter 13

The obnoxious ringing of his cellphone stirred Splendid awake, tempted to smash the device into dust for disturbing him this morning. He'd spent most of the night cuddling up with Flippy on the couch, stealing a few kisses. Before the movie had even finished Flippy had fallen asleep with his head on Splendid's thigh, the hero almost didn't want to move him. Eventually, he carried Flippy to bed and curled up beside him, his arms dragging the shorter male close. He wished he could share a bed with Flippy every night, but with them living in separate houses, it was a bit difficult to go between but Splendid wasn't quite sure if Flippy was ready to take that next step with moving in together. They were still newly bonded and even if it stressed Splendid out to be away from Flippy for too long, he didn't want to put any pressure on his boyfriend.

He tightened his arms a little around Flippy, making the veteran curl up against him, feeling Flippy's breath softly brush over his neck. It was comforting and satisfying to be able to hold Flippy in the protection of his arms where he could keep him safe, where he didn't have to worry about Flippy every moment the omega was out of sight. He lowered his head, nuzzling his face into those pale green strands, prepared to fall back to sleep, feeling content with how everything was settled. Until his phone began ringing again, making his eyes snap open, glowing with a red tint in his growing anger at who was currently ruining his special moment with Flippy. He was contemplating murder as the phone continued to ring, not giving up.

Frustrated, Splendid rolled to his other side, causing Flippy's arms to curl about his waist in a sleepy clingy motion, nuzzling his face against Splendid's back. The hero groaned as he reached out to snag his phone, yanking the charger out without a care, he was too pissed that someone was waking him up. Without looking at the name, he answered it and put it to his ear. "Hello?" His voice was a bit rough from sleep and the growl forming in the back of his throat, rubbing at his tired eyes in attempts to clear them.

"You're late." Splendont's voice came through from the speaker, confusing Splendid for a moment as his brain was still clouded from sleep. "Huh?" Was all the hero could reply, hearing Flippy make a sound of protest at being woke up, burying his face further against Splendid's bare back. He could feel a few shy kisses placed on his skin, trying to lure him away from the phone call.

"I told you to meet me in front of the hospital at nine. Its ten-thirty, get your ass up already. I don't have all day."

"Technically, you do, Mr. Jobless." Splendid yawned and sat up, Flippy's arms sliding down to his hips, pushing down a little on the tops of his heart pattern boxers.

"You know why I can't get a job. And someone has to protect the town while you're busy playing human." Splendont groused a little before continuing on. "So get up, get dressed and get here, I'm tired of waiting. If you're not here in thirty minutes, I'm hunting you down and it won't be pretty." With that, Splendont hung up on him, he really didn't want to fight this early in the morning, so he had to get up. He leaned down, one hand guiding Flippy's head to look up at him, giving Splendid the perfect angle to let his lips fall onto the omega's. He tilted his head to the side, pressing for a deeper kiss, moving slowly and sleepily to allow Flippy to enjoy the kiss. Eventually he had to pull away from the heaven he found on Flippy's lips, leaving Flippy to pout slightly.

"I've gotta' go, hero duty calls. I'll see if I can stop by the library with lunch today too. I'll text you if I can make it." Flippy made an incoherent mumble before rolling over and dragging the blankets over him, trying to replace Splendid's missing warmth with what remained in the blankets. Grinning a little, he pushed himself up out of bed to go through his usual morning routine, he never felt right without going through each step in order. He even left breakfast in the microwave and a note for Flippy for when he woke up, wanting to make sure his boyfriend had a proper breakfast instead of just processed donuts or any other junk food the veteran might have back at his place. Just another reason why he wanted to live with Flippy, it didn't matter which house, just as long as he got to stay with Flippy.

Making sure his eyemask was secured and tied tight, he stepped outside, the air was still reasonably cool, but it was starting to warm up as the sun made its trek up the sky. Not wanting to be further late and have Splendont crash into his home and disturb Flippy, he rushed his way towards the hospital. He wasn't surprised to see Splendont standing there out front looking irritated, he always had a scowl on his face. Splendid was starting to wonder if his twin even knew how to smile, when he landed, he couldn't help but to grin, prepared to verbally spar with his twin if it came down to it. He watched as Splendont's nostrils flared and then his eyes cast away, he could likely smell Flippy all over him since they'd been cuddled up against each other all night. It was explanation enough for his tardiness.

"Took you long enough." Splendont exhaled before continuing on. "You're going to be the distraction since you're Mr. Popular, get the nurse's attention and I'll look through her computer to find the files."

"How am I supposed to distract her?"

"Flirt with her, pose, do something, your usual showing off." Splendont waved his hand, not really knowing what made Splendid so famous, he never bothered to pay attention to his brother's antics outside the fact he often did more harm than good when he tried to save people.

"I'm covered in Flippy's scent, flirting is off the table." Splendid folded his arms, he refused to even humor the idea he'd flirt with someone else, it just made him feel a little queasy in his stomach. To hurt Flippy that way… He just couldn't do it even if the flirting wasn't in earnest.

"Well, you can't just do your usual M.O. and destroy things, I don't want tot risk the power going out or you hurting people on accident as usual." Splendont sighed out, as if dealing with Splendid was mentally taxing. Splendid on the other hand wasn't paying attention as he peered through the glass doors into the empty lobby, only the familiar nurse from before was at the desk. Cleaning from the looks of it. He knew showing off or even flirting wouldn't work with that one track mind, however, Splendid had a brilliant idea.

"I've got it, wait out here and I'll give you the signal to come in once I'm done!' Before Splendont could ask what this brilliant plan was, Splendid was already inside, leaving his twin to face the still swinging door. He would just have to trust his twin as Splendid made his way casually to the unisex bathroom, the nurse was too deep in her cleaning to really bother noticing him. Entering one of the stalls, he ripped the front of the large toilet paper compartment off to get to the industrial sized toilet paper inside. He began to unroll it into the toilet bowl, letting it turn to a goopy mush inside the pristine bowl before flushing.

Instantly, it clogged up, beginning to overflow in an alarming rate and Splendid hovered off the ground so he didn't get wet from toilet water. He rushed out, looking a bit panicked, well the best his poor acting skills could as he hurried to the desk. He put his hands on it, just to make sure he had the nurse's attention, he was received with a glare that threatened murder. "Miss, miss! The toilet is overflowing! Its a complete mess in there! Water is everywhere, the toilet paper is getting all soggy with it all over the floor!" The nurse looked horrified at his explanation and stood up immediately from her Splendid had judged correctly that she was paranoid about things being dirty. He was sure there was a phobia term for it but Splendid didn't really know what it was called.

Instead, he moved towards the entrance as the poor nurse ran towards the bathroom instead of doing the rational thing and calling a plumber. Pushing open the door, he motioned for Splendont to come inside. His twin hurried in and immediately took up residence in the seat the nurse had vacated. Splendid stood near the hall so he could keep watch to see if anyone would interrupt them. The red haired anti-hero was quick though, making Splendid wonder where he got his computer skills from. It made the hero realize, he barely knew anything about his twin, what the other man did in his free time or where he even slept at night. The guy never opened up, making Splendid wonder if he should try to get Splendont to sometime. Maybe over coffee when the town didn't need to be saved from one disaster to the next.

"I've got everything. Seems like the only one having these medications is Flaky. She's listed as an alpha but she takes the scent changers to be an omega. Since she was one of the victims, it couldn't have been her. But I did pull up the records of your boyfriend here…"

"If it doesn't have anything to do with the case, then I don't want to know. That's Flippy's private files and he'll tell me if he feels the need to." Splendid snapped, annoyed that Splendont had pried when he had no reason to. He didn't want his twin judging Flippy on his medical problems, Splendid knew he was taking some sort of medication. However, he supposed it was from war related reasons. He had done some research of his own into how retired veterans acted and how he should use precautions to keep from upsetting them. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally cause Flippy stress by being ignorant to his boyfriend's , though, everyone was different and he'd have to learn through experiences with Flippy, but doing a bit of research had helped gie him a little start.

"No, not really." Splendont said, but he didn't sound too convinced, still suspicious of the new arrival. Splendid knew he was just keeping an open mind to every possibility. He supposed that was a good thing, since Splendid's judgement would be clouded by his affection and attachment towards the veteran. It was a good thing there were two of them, one picking up for the other's flaws.

"So we're at another dead end. What are we supposed to do now? Just sit and wait for another attack to happen?" Splendid raised his arms up in defeat, Splendont got up out of his chair and grabbed Splendid by the elbow and guided them outside before the nurse returned or someone caught them. This wasn't a conversation to have in the empty, echoing halls of the hospital.

"We've got nothing, no pattern, no reason to these attacks, they're all random. I tried looking at the security tapes in the super market, but nothing. They don't have a camera in the butcher's area. Whoever is doing this knows how to keep themselves hidden. They're deliberately leaving their scent as a mark to flaunt it was them. They're cocky and they're bound to slip up sometime, we just have to be patient." Splendont drummed his fingers on his arm in thought, he wasn't happy about waiting, but that's all they could do at this point.

"Yeah, well, I'm not happy about letting a murderer just roam free, anyone could be next…" He frowned, feeling restless all of a sudden, his anxiety making his sandalwood scent smell a bit bitter and rotten.

"Get your head in the game, worrying about your boyfriend isn't going to help solve this. Now, I'm going to the local drug store to see if anyone's been stealing supplies. If this person murders other, then they're likely not above stealing either." Splendid nodded, though he didn't feel any better, he needed to go see Flippy. It was a little after lunch time by now, so it would be a good reason to go and see the veteran at his job. Pulling out his phone, he texted Flippy, asking him what he wanted to eat. He slowly began to ascend up into the sky, waiting for Flippy to text him back. Usually Flippy was pretty good at responding right away, so it was odd that he was waiting. Splendid wrote it off as he was likely busy helping someone check out a book. He texted again, just a reminder to get Flippy to check his messages. Then finally, a message popped up, but it wasn't a comforting one as his stomach dropped.

heLP


End file.
